


Jason Todd and friends

by Pandaora



Series: Mystery people all around [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Gay, Implied Sexual Content, It starts slow but hopefully the pace will pick up soon, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, bad language, i'll add tags as i go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:42:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24542542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandaora/pseuds/Pandaora
Summary: Jason is a good neighbour. He watches over his neighbours and he's nice and helpful and... protective.He likes this neighbourhood. It's small and quiet. It makes thinks a lot more obvious when things change.(Aaaand summaries aren't my strong suit. I might change it later)
Relationships: Joyfire, Roy Harper/Koriand'r, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd
Series: Mystery people all around [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1836892
Comments: 16
Kudos: 38





	1. Neighbours

Jason was patrolling his area after a long night. He makes sure to do a thorough sweep around his safe house before and after his patrol.

He was sweaty and wanted nothing more than to shower and hop into his bed. He was very grateful that the area around the safehouse he was currently staying at was peaceful. Nothing ever happened. The neighboring apartment complex was mostly empty, save from a very nice old lady, a recovering drug addict, a poor student doing her best to get by honestly and a crazy old cat lady. Only she wasn’t old. She must have been in her 30s. They’re easy to keep track of and they’re harmless. Every now and then some fool would try to mug one of them or try to sell drugs to the poor guy on the second floor. That was easily taken care of, both as Red Hood and ‘Jason Peterson’. Jason wasn’t too fond of his new surname, but hey. Jason Todd took his name to the grave and left it there, didn’t he? 

No one sneezed in this neighborhood without him knowing, so it surprised him to see a lamp turned on in one of the apartments that he knew for a fact wasn’t occupied. It was strange because Jason  _ would _ have noticed a moving truck. And who the fuck would want to live here if they could help it? 

Jason grappled onto his own roof and spied into the apartment. 

The guy seemed to be a teenager. Brown hair. Comfortable clothes. Rather skinny. 

He sat on an old bed that looked like it was one heavy drop of exhaustion away from breaking. The boy was reading. 

Jason looked in the room as well as he could from his position. Many books, Spread everywhere. A covered desk with different papers and more books and a laptop. There were more notes and drawings pinned to the horrible, yellowing, flower patterned wallpapers. The boy didn’t seem suspicious, but it was strange that he went unnoticed. He’ll ask the old landlady tomorrow morning. 

With a sigh he went into his own apartment and finally took that shower he so desperately craved. Now he wanted to sleep, but he needed to write a briefing while it was fresh in his mind. Tim would be all on his case if it turned out he left out a detail like ‘I took a break at 22.03’. That, apparently, could be crucial information one day. Honestly. Tim needed something better to do with his life. 

It took him 30 minutes, but then he was done and he crawled under the covers and hugged his pillow. He exhaled deeply, allowing his body to relax. He felt his tense muscles soften up and he could feel a small ache in them. Oh yeah. He will feel that tomorrow. He’s going to regret not stretching properly when he got home. Oh well. That’s tomorrow Jason’s problem. Present Jason just needs to sleep and hopefully he won’t wake up with “phantom pains” of burning skin and a horrible headache, like his head had been bashed in. 

It felt like a blessing when he finally dozed off. 

~-~

When Jason woke up, it was 8.30. It wasn’t much sleep, but he felt more than well rested. He sat up in his bed and sure enough, there was his punishment for not stretching. Oh well. 

Jason easily brushed it off. It’s not something he’s unused to after all. In fact, he’s used to worse. 

He got dressed in well-worn jeans and a black t-shirt before getting out on the fire escape for his morning cigarette. The air was crisp and very refreshing.

When he got inside again he put on a hoodie, deeming it too cold to be out in just a T-shirt after all. He looked through a few files while eating a sandwich and checked his phone for any messages. There were only 16, from the same person. Roy. All pictures he had taken during his own patrols. Selfies with his ‘victims’, selfies with the scenery and, of course, a nice shot of Kori’s ass. 

‘ _ Hm? Kori is back? Maybe it’s time to pay them a visit. _ ’ 

Jason sucked some crumbs off his thumb and sent a thumbs up in response, even if the picture was sent at 2am last night. (This morning?) Mostly because Roy would be anxious if Jason didn’t show any sign of being alive. 

Jason decided that it was about time to go see old ‘Grandma Gertrude’. She was the sweet old lady in the neighboring building. She often invited Jason for pie and they sometimes traded recipes. She was the landlady of the building too and Jason helped her with numbers sometimes. She was almost like the Alfie of this area.  _ Almost _ . No one can measure up to Alfred. But the lady was very hard to say no to. 

Jason grabbed his keys and wallet and left. Once outside his building he saw the student outside her apartment complex, on the stairs, looking a bit anxious. Her bag was by her side and she had her head in her hands. He walked up to her.

“Mornin’, Tiff. What’s up?”

“Oh. Mr. Peterson.” She offered a small smile but Jason winced. ‘Mr. Peterson’ made him seem old. ‘Mr. Hood’ was fine. That was respect for a leader. But ‘mr. Peterson’? Nah. He cringed internally. “I’m late for school and the next bus doesn’t go for another hour. And we have a test in 30 minutes.” she continued. 

“Ah, shit. That sucks. Can’t Gary give you a ride?” Jason asked. She shook her head.

“Nah… Last night was pretty bad. He shuffled around his apartment all night and whimpered. I think he fell as well, judging by the loud crash and the curse that followed. I don’t want to bother him. If he’s asleep, he deserves it, you know”

Gary was the recovering drug-addict in the building. Tiffany lived next door to him, and with the walls as thin as they were you could practically have a conversation while they’re both sitting in their couches.

Jason nodded his understanding. He glanced at the entrance to the building and sighed. 

‘ _ Oh fuck it all. She’s hardworking. _ ’

“Got anything against motorcycles?” he asked and reached for his keys. “I’ll give you a ride.”

“Are you sure?” Tiffany’s eyes were hopeful but she seemed a little hesitant to accept the help. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” 

He described his motorcycle and instructed her to wait there while he got the helmets. He hurried up and got two helmets as well as one of his leather jackets and went to the motorcycle where Tiffany seemed nervous but excited. 

“Here.” Jason said, announcing his presence. Tiffany blushed a little and stepped away from the bike. She accepted the helmet. Jason got onto the bike and instructed her on how to sit the safest, then started the engine and wrapped her arms around his waist. The way to her school was tedious. He followed traffic rules properly. If he were on his own or in his hood, he wouldn’t have given a shit. But Tiffany seemed nervous already. No use scaring her more by having sirens and blue lights chasing them. 

After 20 minutes they reached her school. 

“Here we are. Can you make it home yourself later?” Jason asked as Tiffany removed her helmet. She handed it over.

“Yes. Thank you so much.” She gave him a quick hug before hurrying away into the school.

The way back only took 10 minutes. Much more calming for Jason’s nerves. He liked going fast. It made him feel free.  _ Alive. _

He finally entered his neighboring building after parking right outside it. He walked in and knocked on Gertrude’s door. She opened it with that smile that seemed to permanently glow with kindness.

“Hey, granny. Sorry for being late. I gave Tiff a ride to school. She missed her bus.”

“Oh that’s alright, dear! Come in, come in! I just finished making scones!” Gertrude smiled kindly and let Jason come inside. He nodded his thanks and entered her apartment and took off his shoes.

“Hey. I saw a light on last night. Fourth floor? You got a new tenant?”

“Oh, that is Eren! He strolled in last Saturday, asking for a room. And I told him to have his pick. I warned him that the higher floors were colder but he didn’t seem to mind. Said he valued view over warmth or something like that.” Gertrude chuckled warmly and shook her head.

‘ _ Last Saturday? That’s four days. How did I not notice until now? _ ’

“We’re having a welcoming party for him tonight. You’re welcome to come if you want.” 

“I’ll think about it but I’m not making any promises. Might get a surprise shift at work. You know how it is.”

“Of course, of course!” Gerturde said, ever the understanding old lady. 

Jason took a seat in ‘his’ spot on the green couch with small swirly patterns. He made sure to tell the old lady that he had already eaten and was in no need for a treat, She came out with coffee and tea anyways. He sighed fondly and shook his head.

“How come I haven’t noticed a moving truck or anything these days then?” Jason finally asked. “Would be kinda hard to miss, you know.”

“Oh he already had his packing with him when he came here. A small, sad looking backpack. I told him there was an old abandoned bed in the attic and Gary helped him carry it down to Eren’s apartment. He claimed that he had no other belongings. Poor child.” Gertrude took a seat in her pink flower patterned armchair with a sad sigh. “He seems to have it rough… But it seems everyone in this little family does.” 

A heartwarming giggle. This lady really was sweet.

They chatted for about 15 minutes before there was a knock on the door. It sounded a bit frantic. ‘ _ Roy _ ’ Jason thought quickly, then sighed. ‘ _ No. Gary _ ’

“I’ll get it, granny. You just sit there.” Jason smiled warmly. He went to open the door and sure enough. Gary was there. He looked tired if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by. He needed a shave and he was wearing old clothes. Seemed like he’d worn the same clothes for three days, judging by the stains. A t-shirt with the short sleeves ripped off and dirty dark jeans. His dirty blonde hair was a mess and there were streaks in it. He needed a shower, because Jason was 95% sure that it was not because of hair-gel. “Hey, Gary. Everything okay?”

“Oh shit. Jason. Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Is gran-gran in?” Gary sounded out of breath and he was anxiously tearing the edges of a piece of paper in his hands. “She… She said she had something for me.” With a very shaky hand he held out the note. Jason almost felt like Gary’s shaking was contagious, like the vibrations were rubbing off. It was uncomfortably familiar.

“Of course. Come in!” Jason moved out of the door opening. Gary hesitated for a short second, then bowed his head and entered. Jason heard Gertrude’s voice from her living room. 

“Oh Gary! There you are, my boy! Come with me to the kitchen. I think you’ll really like these!”

‘ _ Ah. So she made the scones for Gary. _ ’ Jason thought and smiled. Gertrude must have known that Gary was having a rough time. Gary kept itching the bend of his elbow. He was craving. He was truly a fighter. He had relapsed many times during his stay here but he always kept standing back up, and every time Gertrude was there to assure him that it was fine to fall as long as you could find your way back eventually. Jason sighed. Gary shouldn’t be in Crime alley. It was far too easy for him to get his hands on his fix. But then again. Where else would he go? It’s not like he could afford anywhere to live else. 

Jason joined the two in the kitchen. Gertrude had an arm around Gary’s waist, seeing as she couldn’t reach his shoulders. He was taller than her after all.

“It’s okay my child. The worst will be over soon. Now how about we have a nice breakfast, then you can help me make the welcome cake for our newest little family member, hm?”

Gary exhaled and nodded his head a lot. 

“Yes. Yes I’d like that. Thank you gran-gran.” Gary’s raspy voice answered.

Jason could hear a small sniffle but knew better than to comment.

“Granny! I’m leaving now. Maybe see you tonight?” 

“Already? Very well. Very well. You know my door is always open!” Gertrude smiled at Jason. 

“Take care Gary. See you around.” Jason patted Gary’s shoulder and left the room.

‘ _ Fourth floor. Eren… _ ’ 

The elevator was broken, as always, so up the stairs he went. Easy as pie. There was only one person on this floor, that was the newcomer. Jason read the small sign on the mailbox on the door. ‘ _ Eren M. Low _ ’

“Huh.” he muttered and knocked on the door. It took a short while, but then he heard the small ‘ _ click _ ’, indicating that the door was now unlocked. 

The door opened very little, just enough for the boy to peek at his guest.

“Yes? Can I help you?” 

“Oh. No. I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood-” ‘ _ And get a close look at you _ ’ “- I’m Jason. Peterson. I live in the building just over there.” Jason said and gestured in the general direction of his safehouse. 

The door opened more properly and Jason finally got a good look at this ‘Eren’. 

Brown messy hair, dungarees, only a hint of freckles, grey eyes, surprisingly full lips, almost swollen, skinny and about a head shorter than Jason. 

“Oh. Ahm. I’m Eren.” The boy said, voice low and almost shy. “Eren Low.”

Eren offeren a small smile. “I’d let you in but I have nothing to offer I’m afraid.” A nervous chuckle. A bit of an oddball. He’d fit right in. A poor kid with close to no belongings and seemingly a huge nerd judging by all the books in his room. 

“Oh no need. I just wanted to personally greet you. Granny Gertrude seems to have already taken a liking to you.” Jason smiled.

“She’s a sweet lady. I’m glad she’s in charge.” Eren’s voice was still low and shy, but he seemed to slowly break out of his shell.   
  


“She’s a sweetheart.” Jason agreed with a chuckle. “Just be careful, okay? You’re probably already aware but it’s not safe here. Be wary.” Jason warned.

“Oh. Right. Thank you mr. Peterson.”

“Jason. Just Jason.” Jason was quick to say and Eren was quick to apologize. 

The kid was really sweet. He’d give him that. But fragile. Would he be okay in this harsh neighborhood? “Well take care Eren. I’ll see you around.” Jason offered a halfhearted salute.

“Yes. S-See you.” Eren seemed very relieved to be able to finally close the door. 

Maybe Jason was wrong to be so worried. At least this little ‘issue’ was solved before he could lose any sleep over it. 


	2. The welcoming party

Jason stood outside of Gertrude’s door wearing what he had worn the entire day. After all. It was not like anyone else would dress up.  _ Possibly _ Gertrude. Jason had given Nightwing permission to patrol his section of Gotham for the night. He had been thrilled to help, Jason wasn’t equally thrilled to be helped.

He knocked at the door and Tiffany opened the door. 

“Oh! Jason!” She seemed oddly happy to see him. They saw each other this morning, didn’t they? “We didn’t know if you would come!” she said and stepped out of the way. Jason entered.

“I wasn’t really sure if I would either, but someone volunteered to take my shift at work so here I am.” 

Gary looked significantly better than he had this morning. He seems to have taken a shower. He hasn’t shaved but hey, that’s no requirement. He wore clean clothes too. Gertrude was setting the table with his help and Eren sat awkwardly in an armchair. He wore a dress shirt and kinda tight jeans. His hair was brushed now. It looked nice. He looked around the room, mostly at the cats roaming around. 

“Oh? Olga is here?” Jason asked and observed the 6 cats roaming around. 

“Oh yes! She’s in the kitchen trying to get Sparkles down from the fridge.” Gertrude responded, 

“I swear. He got his name for his sharp claws constantly being out.” Gary muttered. 

Jason chuckled a bit and took his seat on the couch for the second time that day. “Hi Eren. We meet again.” 

“Y-Yeah. I was…. I was not prepared for this. At all. It really caught me off guard.” Eren said. His voice sounded like he was just nervous and unprepared but something in his eyes told Jason that he was actually annoyed. 

“Yes. Gertrude has a tendency to do that. She loves surprises.” Jason chuckled. Odd but nothing to lose sleep over. “I never asked. What do you do? Do you study? Work?”

“I guess you could say I do a little bit of both. I research a lot. History and stuff like that. That’s my job. I sometimes manage to sell my information for a good price.” 

‘ _ Like selling to publishers? _ ’

“Oh. Neat.” was all he said before Gertrude called everyone to the table. Jason went and Eren stood up at the same time. Jason sat at the outer edge of the table so he could easily get out if he needed to. Tiffany eagerly sat next to him. Eren sat closest to the window, Gary next to him and then Olga came from the kitchen with a red cat in her arms. She put it down and took a seat on the short side between Tiffany and Eren and Gertrude sat between Jason and Gary with the sweetest grin on her face. 

“Dig in, children!” she said and everyone started taking shy portions of food. 

“You look well, Olga. I haven’t seen you for a few months. Your hair is actually free from tangles.” Gary said. 

Olga rarely left her apartment. She didn’t really like people, hence the cats. When you saw her she usually had smeared makeup and her curly brown/red hair was always unruly. 

Olga grunted something of acknowledgement, then glanced between Eren and Gertrude. She was a woman of few words. 

“Oh I insisted that she joined us. What’s a welcoming party if not all members are here to welcome, huh?” Gertrude spoke. 

“-could bring cats. Tolerable…” Olga murmured. Jason could barely make out the ‘She said I-’ at the start of that sentence. 

“So you don’t mind pets in this building?” Eren asked. 

“Not at all! Whatever helps you through your days, sweetie.” Gertrude’s voice was very kind and sweet.

The rest of the dinner went by with light chatter. Jason didn’t say much except from when he answered questions directed at him. Olga stayed quiet as well.

Jason had to admit, this was very nice. Much better than the family gatherings at the manor at least. They were always stiff despite Dick’s best efforts to ease the tension in the air. Sometimes it was fine, but those times were few and far between. He always felt like he had to prove himself there. Bruce wanted him to prove that he was the same 15 year old boy he was before he was blown up. The others in the Robin club wanted him to prove that he was not a threat. None of those were true. He was not the same as he was before his death and he could very well be a threat. He can’t always control the pit madness and his “brothers” had a tendency to get on his nerves. 

In short. They wanted him to prove that he was someone he wasn’t, Alfred being the exception. 

Okay. Dick just wanted to make up for lost time and his behaviour when Jason first became Robin. Probably feels guilty.

Gertrude picked up her glass and gently tapped her fork against it to get everyone’s attention. 

“I think it’s about time that we address the reason for this little get together. Let’s properly welcome our newest family member. Eren!” She smiles so sweetly she puts sugar to shame. She was a true grandma. She loved caring for people. 

The people around the table said their welcomes. Gary and Tiffany, very enthusiastic and Olga not so much. Jason offered a smile and a welcome. Eren blushed a little. He lowered his head and Jason had to strain his ears to hear the ‘thanks’ that the boy managed to let out.

“Now! Cake! Gary. Be a dear and help me gather the dishes?”

Without hesitation Gary stood up and gathered all the dirty dishes from the table and went into the kitchen to help carry out the new plates and spoons. Gertrude came out with a pretty chocolate cake. The icing was uneven and it looked a bit unsteady. It had that homemade charm to it. Great effort put into it but it’s clearly not that boring professional work. The letters on the cake were very shaky looking. It’s hard to make straight lines when your hands are shaking, more so when you’re handling a piping bag. It was probably not even a piping bag. It was probably written with those plastic tubes you get at the store. The ones that are always too hard and you need to put them in warm water to have a chance of getting the content out of that ridiculously small pipe. 

Well. No matter. You could read what it said and that’s all that matters. “Welcome ErenI”. The I was probably supposed to be an exclamation mark. 

“Thank you so much. Really. I appreciate it.” Eren said in his small voice and he was blushing.

“Blow the candles!” Gertrude exclaimed with the excitement of a child. Eren chuckled and did as asked. There was scattered applause around the table.

Gertrude cut the cake and gave everyone a piece. They ate the cake in peace and the comfortable chatter continued. 

Later Jason found himself on the couch and enjoyed the homely feeling.

“So… Why the candles?” Eren asked and sat down next to him.

“Hm? Oh. Ahm… Granny says it’s to guarantee a nice and comfortable stay.” Jason answered. Now that Eren was right next to him he could see a mark under the collar. It was barely noticeable but it looked like a hickey. Well hidden by the collar but there nonetheless. 

‘ _ Huh. Didn’t see that coming. Who would have thought? _ ’

“You enjoying your stay so far?”

“Oh yes. Everyone’s very nice. The apartment is more than big enough for little me. I’m just working on getting heat into it but that’s tomorrow’s project.” Eren smiled almost awkwardly. Like he wasn’t used to talking this much. Yet there it was. That hint of annoyance in his eyes. Faint but still there. It bothered Jason. How could you be annoyed after such a warm welcome? Just as he was about to mention it his phone rang. 

‘ _ Dick? _ ’ Jason excused himself and answered. 

“Talk to me.” 

“ _ Red? It’s Nightwing. _ ”

“Yes. I can hear that. What’s up?”

“ _ You have a certain little mercenary in town. He’s all geared up in the middle of nowhere. He seems to be waiting for someone but he has done so for about an hour now. Whoever he’s meeting must be important to waste his time like this. _ ” 

“.....And? He’s not doing anything, is he?”

“ _ You’re missing the point. Slade doesn’t do ‘waiting’. He kills people for being late by three minutes. He doesn’t even waste his time if it’s ten minutes. And he’s been waiting for an hour for a certain somebody. _ ”

Jason thought for a moment. 

“I’ll be there. Keep an eye on him. You can send me the address, can’t you?”

“ _ Will do. _ ”

They hung up.

“Hey. Granny. Something came up at work. I need to be there so I need to go.”

“Oh. Okay, dear.” She smiled. “Take care, my boy. Thank you for coming.” She smiled and gave him a hug.

“Thank you for the food. It was delicious as always. I’ll come back tomorrow for the recipe.” he promised. Granny Gertrude nodded and gave his arm a firm squeeze. Jason said goodbye and left the apartment complex and hurried up to his own. He quickly pulled on his gear and costume before hopping out the window and hurrying to Nightwing’s location. Ten minutes and he saw that black and blue suit on a rooftop behind an air vent. Jason dropped down next to him.

“Has he done anything?” Jason asked. His voice was distorted by his helmet.

“Other than checking his phone over and over and pacing the roof? No. Not at all. It’s weird. I have a weird feeling.” Nightwing answered. “Other than this it’s been a calm night, by the way. A few muggings, attempted assaults and some people trying to break into buildings.”

Jason, or Red hood now, nodded.

“Thanks for stepping in. I owe you one.”

He kept an eye on Slade.

“What business does Deathstroke have in this part of the city? Last I checked there’s nothing going down that needs a mercenary such as him.” his distorted voice spoke. “Mm… You can go if you want, Wing. I’ll take it from here.”

“I’m already here. Might as well stay.” 

“Do as you wish. Just don’t get in my way.” 

They sat a good fifteen minutes before something happened. Deathstroke seemed to ready himself. 

“Someone must be coming. Can you get a ‘microphone’ there?” Red hood asked. Nightwing nodded and threw a small device with good aim. It ended up close to Deathstroke and started picking up noise. Nightwing shared the frequency with Red hood so he could also hear.

“One and a half hours.” Deathstroke said. He was clearly annoyed.

“Oh please. An hour and twenty five minutes. Don’t exaggerate.” another voice came from somewhere. Red hood frowned and searched for the source, then he saw it. A person coming out from the shadows of the cube that leads up to the roof. 

Brown hair, big glasses and a…. School uniform? He didn’t recognize it. It didn’t match any school uniform in Gotham. Nightwing looked at Hood but he shook his head. No. He doesn’t recognize this guy.

“Oh, five minutes. Big difference. This better be important, kid.” 

Deathstroke was wearing a mask, but Nightwing and Red hood could almost hear that he was sending a glare in the boy’s direction. 

“Every second matters.” Another voice, but it came from the same person. He must have some sort of voice filter. 

“Indeed. And I’ve been here for 5100 seconds and still counting. I should just kill you right here and now.” Deathstroke spoke and lifted his gun and aimed it at the boy. Man? Hard to tell. The stranger didn’t so much as flinch.

“I got held up, handsome. I wrote that I was sorry, didn’t I? Come on babe.” The stranger took a few steps forward. “I have something you want, don’t I? And you have something I want.” 

“You’re one weird guy.” Deathstroke said but lowered his gun. “Look. Kid-”

“Oh please~ We’re familiar enough. Call me Horus~!” the ever changing voice all but sang. Deathstroke seemed unamused. 

“Horus?” Nightwing whispered his question and Red hood shrugged.

“... Fine. Horus. I’m a patient man.”

“I’ve noticed. And I appreciate it.” 

The stranger was now close and he stroked Deathstroke’s chest. “Take me somewhere romantic? I’ll make it worthwhile.”

The obviously older man sighed deeply. 

“We should speak elsewhere, yes. But not for your sake.”

“Of course not~ Wouldn't dream of it.” Horus grinned and hooked arms with the mercenary. “Lead the way, hotstuff.” 

Deathstroke almost groaned but they left the rooftop.

“Come on. We can’t afford to lose track of them.” Red hood said and stood up. He quickly grappled to the other rooftop, Nightwing close behind. They rushed to find where the duo went but they were nowhere to be found. They had gone up in smoke. 

“Fuck… Help me find where Slade is staying. We’ll have to question him before he leaves.”

“Sure. But you know as well as I do that he won’t talk unless he wants to. Not even torture works on the guy.” 

“We’ll see.” Red hood muttered and grappled away. He flew over rooftops in search for the mercenary and the new guy. Horus. No luck. He sighed as he returned home after two full hours of looking. Eren’s lamp was still on and Jason smiled. Kid sure must like reading. Gary’s window was lit with weak, blue, flickering lights. From the TV most likely. Other than that? Nice and quiet. Jason wrapped up his patrol. He wrote his report, stretched for a good ten minutes, took a shower and got ready for the night, double checked his phone. Nothing. And then under the covers he went. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow.


	3. Visitors

It’s been a few weeks now since Jason first heard of Horus. He’s a mystery that appears out of nowhere and disappears into nothing. He pops up a little bit everywhere around Gotham it seems, but those are just rumors, There is no solid proof of anyone interacting with him. Some say he’s a mercenary, some say he’s a meta, some say he’s a myth, some say he’s a new big player who is preparing for a big fight. He’s impossible to pin down.

Jason sighed and left his apartment. He was going to meet up with Tim. He hated to admit it but Tim was good in situations like these. He could hack better than any other bat, better than Bruce even, and he could make connections faster too. He got out on the street and heard rustling of paper and small, but vulgar and powerful, curses. He looked over to see Eren holding a paper bag. There were many books and files and papers on the ground. The bag must have broken under the weight.

Jason walked up to him.

“Those are some curses.” he said and chuckled.

“Oh. Jason. Hey.” Eren said and ran a hand tiredly through his hair. With a heavy sigh he crouched down and started gathering his things. Jason crouched to help. 

‘ _ History of gargoyles? What an odd choice. _ ’ He took up another one. ‘ _ Maps from the early 1900s? _ ’

“You know I have some maps that are a bit more up to date if you want to borrow?” 

“No thank you. This is for my study history.” Eren smiled. “Old maps show how things looked originally.” He looked so excited. His eyes basically twinkled. 

Jason read a post-it note on a file.

‘ _ Lists of exorcists in Gotham’  _

“Exorcists? If you find an active one, send it my way. I have a small demon that could use some exorcising at my dad’s place.” he joked.

“I don’t think any legit ones exist anymore.” Eren giggled and took the file. All the papers, books and files were now gathered. 

“I’ll help you carry them upstairs. Give me half.” He said and held out his hands once they stood up.

‘ _ Tim can wait. _ ’

Eren smiled and handed over some books. They carried the books into Eren’s apartment. It was rather nicely decorated. A lot of just nice furniture. A good couch, a rather big TV, some game consoles and bookshelves, filled to the point where there were some books laying on top of the other books. 

“Thank you so much, Jason. Can I get you something?” 

“Oh, no. I’m actually meeting with my brother. Thanks though.”

“Hm. Okay. Thanks again.” Eren smiled and put a string of his hair behind his ear. Damn. He was pretty cute.

“Hey. How old are you?”

Eren seemed taken aback by the question.

“Ahm… I’m eighteen, why?”

“Eighteen? You look sixteen.”

“I get that a lot.” Eren rolled his eyes. “Scrawny doesn’t mean young.”

Jason chuckled. He supposed that was true. I mean, look at Tim. 

“Sorry. Looks can be deceiving. See you around, Eren.” Jason offered a smile as he left the apartment. He heard Eren mumble a ‘bye’ before the door closed. Jason walked away and took his motorcycle to Tim’s current place. He knocked and Tim opened, a weird mix of keen and exhausted as always.

“Sup, Tim-Tim.” He greeted casually with the helmet under his arm.

“Heya. Come in. Take off your shoes.” Tim walked away and took a seat by his table where his laptop was running. The table was covered with coffee cups. There were a few energy drink cans but Tim didn’t drink them as much. 

“So what can I do for ya?” Tim asked and sipped his coffee. 

“I need to find someone.” Jason answered honestly and went straight to the fridge. He sighed and snatched an apple from the fruit bowl. “He’s been appearing a lot lately. Dick and I saw him just a few weeks ago, meeting up with Slade.” Jason sat down in a chair across Tim. 

“Slade? I wasn’t aware he had a contract here…” 

“He didn’t. I double checked. Slade didn’t even check into a hotel. He just met with this guy who calls himself Horus.”

“Horus? Like the god?”

“Fuck if I know, Tim. But he has become a shadow in the underworld. And in a place where everyone knows everything that goes on, he’s damn near invisible. It’s creepy. Just visible enough to know he’s there, you know.” 

Tim seemed to be thinking. 

“Weird. I’ll look into it. Anything else you can give me? Other than the name that is.” 

“Mm… Brown hair. Big glasses. A weird school uniform… Purple and silver theme… That’s no school from around here, is it?”

“No. No it isn’t.” Tim said as he wrote down the description.

“Oh. And he reached Slade's chest, kinda.” 

Tim nodded and wrote that down as well. “That’s all I know… Couldn’t see an eye color. The light reflected in the glasses and he used some sort of voice modifier or something.” 

“Hm. I’ll do some digging. Keep an ear out for any rumours. Any information could be a lead.”

“Yes yes. I’m not stupid, Timbo.” Jason answered. Tim chuckled.

“Could have fooled me.” he mumbled.

“Wanna try saying that again, punk?” Jason glared. Tim just grinned.

“Didn’t you need my help?”

“Oh fuck you.” The older snarled and stood up. “Text me whatever information you find. I’m out. Thanks for the apple.” 

Jason left the building and finished his apple. He got an alert on his phone as soon as he sat on his motorcycle. Someone had entered his house, but the security measures were quickly deactivated. The vigilante rolled his shoulders and head before putting on the helmet and off to the safehouse he went. 

When he reached his door he carefully opened the door. There were two pairs of shoes. One pair thrown off and the other pair neatly put to the side. 

‘ _ Roy and Kori _ ’ Jason found himself smiling. He closed the door and took off his own shoes and entered the living room.

“Well well well, would you look who it is?” He said and put a hand on his hip.

“Jaybird!!” Roy exclaimed and scrambled off the couch before he ran to hug him tightly. 

“Jason! Welcome home.” Kori said and stood up and went to kiss Jason’s cheek. 

“Hey guys. It’s been too long.” 

“ _ Way _ too long!!”

“Roy kept whining after intercourse saying it’s not the same without you.” Kori helpfully explained with a small giggle. 

Jason chuckled and gave them both a kiss. Kori joined the hug and oh yeah, There’s nothing better than their presence. He didn’t even realize how much he had missed his love-friends. They weren’t lovers. Roy and Kori were, but Jason was more like their sex friend. But more. Not quite lovers, but they call themselves that anyways.

“We planned on staying for a week or so if that’s cool with you.” Roy said.

“Always cool with me, Roy. You know that.” Jason chuckled. “Hungry?”

Kori and Roy’s eyes lit up hungrily. They glanced at each other before looking back at Jason and nodding eagerly. Jason rolled his eyes with fondness and went to the kitchen to prepare a nice lunch. 

“So what have you two been up to?” he asked while taking out ingredients. 

“Oh same old, same old.” 

“Roy managed to get kidnapped.”

Jason laughed and Roy protested.

“Really? How even?” 

“I may or may not have gotten cocky… Kori came to save me though~” 

Jason chuckled. The two kept telling small stories. Some sex fails, some bigger injuries or stupid mistakes. It was nice.

“What about you Jason? Anything worth noting?” Kori asked.

“Only some new guy slowly shaping on the streets. Calls himself Horus. Seemingly has Slade wrapped around his finger. He’s like a smoke-shadow.” Jason sighed. “Got a new neighbor too. Seems like a sweet kid. Huge history nerd. Gary had a small relapse about a month back.”

“Hold up. Can we go back to the new villain?” 

“No. I told you all I know, pretty much. It’s bothering me… You two will have to help me.” 

Kori and Roy perked up. They all prefered when all three of them worked together. The outlaws were the prime of their lives, in a way. And being one friend short… well that just didn’t feel right. 

Jason made a simple but delicious omelette and poured some juice for them. They ate and talked, catching up with each other even more. 

Later on they were just chilling on the couch. Kori stood up and strolled to the fridge, looking for a snack. 

“Jason. I believe we need to go to the grocery store. You don’t seem to have anything appealing in here.”

“Well. I’d be better prepared if the two of you told me you were coming.” 

“But Jay-Jay. That would ruin the surprise!” Roy exclaimed and Kori muttered something of agreement. Jason sighed. 

“I’ll get going right away, We need dinner anyways.” 

Jason’s “lovers“ immediately offered to follow and Jason, unable to say no, agreed to it. They gathered their things and left the building. 

Outside Tiffany and Eren sat on the poor excuse of a patio. Only it wasn’t. It was pretty much just a coffee table and two chairs that they had dragged out. There were many books and papers on the table. Eren was reading something while making notes, without really looking where he was writing, and Tiffany seemed to be working on some school work. 

“Heya brats. Acting important are we?” Jason chuckled. Tiffany looked up and her eyes lit up.

“I told you Jason. I’m older than I look.” Eren said absentmindedly, not looking up from his book. 

“Who are your friends, mr. Peterson?” Tiffany asked. Jason didn’t miss the snort coming from Roy and the small, mocking squeal. ‘Mr. Peterson!’ Jason rolled his eyes. 

“This is Kori Anders and Roy Harper. They’re staying with me for a while.” Eren finally looked up from his book and gave them a nod in greeting. 

“You guys studying?” Roy asked, not really interested but showing interest anyways. They’ll be neighbours for a while after all. 

“Yes we are~!” Tiffany said. “No!” Eren said at the same time, a bit offended. 

“I’m researching! There’s a big difference between researching for the sake of researching and researching for the sake of studies. I don’t even go to school Tiffany.” Eren explained. Jason couldn’t help but think that Eren sounded a little like Tim here. 

Tiffany muttered a small ‘sorry’. Roy and Kori struck a conversation with Tiffany and Jason leaned at Eren’s chair.

“Why are you researching the ‘Circus grounds’?” he asked. 

“Circus grounds?” Eren asked, seeming genuinely confused. 

“Yeah. That address is where the circus set up their tents once they’re in town. Didn’t you know?”

“I’m not originally from Gotham, Jason.” Eren reminded him. Jason saw him make notes of the fact though. 

“Right. I forgot. But seriously. Without the circus there there’s nothing to note, you know. No old buildings that used to be there. No landmark. Nada.”

“Every inch of soil can hide a secret, ‘mr. Peterson’. Doesn’t hurt to look.” Eren smiled. “Besides. A little meaningless detective work never hurt nobody.” 

The younger boy closed his book and stretched. 

This was probably the longest conversation that he has had with the boy and he couldn’t help but feel proud. 

Jason looked and found Tiffany’s eyes on him, even if it were just for a second. She averted her eyes quickly to focus on whatever nerdstuff Roy has started rambling about. Jason winced internally.

‘ _ I so hope she doesn’t have a thing for me… _ ’

“Roy.” Kori said and kissed him. “You’re rambling again.” Roy blushed and apologized. Did Tiffany look relieved?

“Well we should get going to the store. Nice seeing you two.” Jason said before going to take Kori’s hand. Roy took Jason’s hand, placing him between the two. He said a quick goodbye to the two by the coffee table and the trio left.

They spent a long time in the grocery store. Longer than necessary. That was mostly because Roy would mess around and pick up everything and make a comment about it. ‘Ey Jason! Look! It’s you!’, ‘Kori look! We could be twins! I have big melons too now!’, ‘Does this cart make my butt look big?’ and on and on. Shopping with them was always a joy and they always left the store with more things than intended and necessary. Then again. Maybe it is necessary if it brings them joy. 

Jason hasn’t slept as good as he did that night in a long, long time. Or at least since the last time he shared a bed with them.


	4. Lost and Found

Months went by pretty much as usual. Bad guys got their asses handed to them, Jason helped his neighbours with small tasks, Roy and Kori sometimes left town to take care of some business, sometimes Jason followed, sometimes he didn’t. The new player, Horus, didn’t seem to be working anymore. No more rumours, no more appearances, no more solid clues, no more random big shots coming to Gotham only to leave the same day empty handed. At least not as far as any of the bats or outlaws picked up. Or anyone in the underground either for that matter, and that’s saying a lot. They always have at least a rumor to hand out, but no. Nada. 

Jason had almost forgotten that he was an issue. Who knows. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe it was a one time thing? Jason was just about ready to brush it off. Yes, it was an uncomfortably weird occurrence, but it hadn’t done any noticeable harm so maybe it was nothing. 

Jason sat by his kitchen table, cleaning and counting his guns, making notes if something needed fixing or was getting worn out. Roy sat on the couch, checking and fixing his bow and arrows. Kori was out helping her new favorite person on the planet to go shopping. Kori and Olga had bonded over their love for cats and to Jason’s delight, Olga had opened up to Kori properly. Kori even got texts from her sometimes, asking for favours. It really warmed Jason’s heart. He liked Olga, but she was hard to reach. He had managed to hold a few conversations with her, but that was rare. 

“Mind if I smoke in here?” Jason asked. Roy was usually fine with cigarettes, but there were days where Roy felt more vulnerable so Jason made a point to always ask before smoking in the same room as him. 

“Sure. Just open a window.” Roy said while inspecting the shaft of an arrow. 

“Naturally.” Jason chuckled. He didn’t often smoke inside, but sometimes it just made things easier. It didn’t interrupt the flow of his work the way that going out on the fire escape would.

Jason opened the window and lit a cigarette. He decided to check some files on his tablet while smoking. Halfway through his cigarette his earpiece beeped, indicating that someone was trying to reach his alter ego. Jason sighed and set the earpiece in his ear and answered with a grunt. 

“ _ Red Hood? It’s Nightwing. _ ”

“Your annoying voice is enough identification, ‘Wing. What can I do for ya?”

“ _ Red Robin has been offline for a good while now. Almost a week. He’s not in any of his safehouses and he hasn’t been in contact with any of his teammates. He doesn’t answer his phone or his com. I’m getting worried. B went to his location only to find his tracker disposed of in the middle of a street. _ ” Nightwing rushed to explain. 

Jason frowned. That was concerning, indeed. 

“And what help do you think I can provide?” He asked, leaning back in his seat. 

“ _ You have a good ear in the ‘criminal world’. Maybe you can see if some dumbass has managed to capture him? They always like to brag about their accomplishments after all. B and I wi- _ ” Jason could hear someone clear their throat on the other side of the com. “Sorry.  _ B,  _ Robin _ and I will try to look through his files. See if he was working any cases before disappearing. _ ”

Jason scoffed.

“Okay, fine. I’ll see what I can do. Have fun trying to hack into his computer. Be careful not to trigger an explosion.”

“ _Don’t worry. That’s an incident we would all want to avoid happening again._ ”  Nightwing sighed at the memory of that disaster. “ _Tell us as soon as you find anything. Nightwing out._ ” 

Jason frowned and got out of his seat. 

“What’s wrong Jaybird?” Roy asked, putting down the arrow he was currently working on. 

“Red Robin has disappeared. Tracker found in the middle of a street. I’m going to see if some idiot is boasting about having him within their grasp.”

Jason said and went to get his gear. It always felt a little weird gearing up in the day when he was in Gotham.

“Want help? I don’t mind coming with you.” Roy asked. “Could be fun! Like in the good ol’ days!”

Jason chuckled. ‘ _ He’s saying that like it’s been  _ years  _ since we teamed up when it’s only been months. _ ’

“I’ll call you if I need backup. For now, stay here. Kori could be back any minute now.” Jason came out from the bedroom where he kept the gear and kissed Roy’s temple. “Keep an ear out. I’ll call as soon as I need help. I promise.”

“Yeah you better fucking promise! I’m not losing you again, asshole.”

Jason laughed. “You better believe that I’ll keep you cuffed to me if you disappear again. You’ll never get rid of me!” Roy warned.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time. Threats work better when you offer something unpleasant.” Jason grinned and flicked the redhead’s trucker cap off his head. Roy just scoffed in response, ignoring that his cap was now on the floor. “I won’t promise to be careful, but I’ll promise to keep in touch and answer when you call.” Jason smiled reassuringly. Roy muttered a small ‘fine’. Jason put on his red hood and adjusted his leather jacket and left through the window, grappling onto the next rooftop. 

Soon enough he entered a bar through a window leading to the second floor. He found a good hiding spot where he could listen in on conversations. He couldn’t enter the bar as Red Hood as that would restrain the conversation topics and he couldn’t enter the baar as Jason To- …  _ Peterson _ . He’d be thrown out as soon as he set foot in the bar. After all. This wasn’t a bar for civilians. Only people in the world of crime were allowed in here. By the time he had reached the bar he had called in a few orders from the ‘Red Hood Gang’ to keep an ear out for any news on Red Robin. No one questioned his orders, which was nice.

An hour passed and nothing. He sighed and was about to leave when he heard something. Some guy he had never seen before spoke.

“Did ya hear? The bats are missing a bird. I heard some guy jumped the double ‘R’ by the old train station.”

“And where the  _ fuck _ did you hear that?” Another guy asked, notably sceptical.

“I know a guy who knows a gal that dates a guy whose bro that works for Black mask that heard from his friend in-” and that’s pretty much as far as Jason had the patience to listen. It was far fetched but that’s the best he had to go on at the moment.

Jason informed Roy that he’d relocate and where he was going before hurrying away to the old, abandoned train station. There were a few, but there was only one known as  _ the _ abandoned train station. Something bothered Jason though. If Red Robin got jumped at the station, then someone had gone through the trouble of finding the tracker and relocating it to the street where B found it. It wasn’t exactly impossible for that to happen if the culprit was smart, but usually they didn’t take the time of day to even  _ consider _ finding a tracker. 

Jason reached the train station and looked around. Rusty carts filled with graffiti everywhere. It was pretty much a graveyard for trains. Kinda unsettling. Jason walked around and inspected everything. As he got close to the actual station house he saw that the dirt on the ground was messed up. Footprints. Impossible to make out due to the movements smearing them out, but still footprints. Someone fought here. Further away was a bigger dent in the dirt. Someone had fallen there. Jason sighed and looked around, then found the shells of the smoke pellets that Red Robin uses. He then saw a birdarang by the stairs up to the station house. 

‘ _ Yup. Definitely a fight. _ ’ 

Just as he was closing in on the stairs he noticed the door on one of the carts slide open, revealing a figure. A man judging by his bodystructure. His face fully covered by a plastic mask, like one you’d find at a tivoli.

“Mr Hood. Looking for a lost bird I take it?”

The voice was muffled by the mask.

“Who are you? Where is he?” Red hood all but growled.

“One question, mr. Hood. I will answer one question. Choose it carefully.” the mystery man warned. Red hood gritted his teeth.

“Where is Red Robin?”

“He is in the green cart with a monkey drawn on it. I suggest you knock first.”

“Why tell me that?”

“One question. Remember?” 

Red Hood may not see the man's face but he could have sworn he grinned. 

With a huff and a last glare at the man he ran to the cart. He did as told and knocked.

“Red? You in there?”

“ _ Don’t come in!! _ ” Red Robin’s muffled voice sounded. He seemed panicked. 

“Red?? What’s going on? Talk to me!” Red Hood said while inspecting the door.

‘ _ It’s not locked….? _ ’ He gave it a small push and found that it was open.

“ **No!!!** Hood! No!”

Red hood flinched back and only hesitated for a second before opening the door the rest of the way. He knew it could have been a trap, but he was ready for anything.

Well. Prepared for anything that wasn’t what he found. Red Robin sat tied up in a corner, wearing only his mask and his utility belt. His face was as red as his absent suit and he held his legs in a position that spared him the humility of exposing his genitals to the world. His hair was a bit of a mess and he had a split lip.

“What the fuck…?” Red Hood heard himself mutter,

“Hood. I beg you… Look away…” the younger’s voice quivered in pure embarrassment. Jason sighed and took off his leather jacket and walked closer to put it over his younger brother. Whilst Red Robin looked grateful, the damage was already done.

“Never took you for the kinky type, Red.” Red Hood joked to ease the tension. Judging by Red Robin’s expression it wasn’t appreciated. “What happened to you?” he asked while untying him. “Where’s your uniform?”

“In another cart.” Red Robin answered in a bitter voice. After adjusting the jacket a little he rubbed his wrists. “I went out to find that Horus guy… He found me first… Decent guy. He kept me fed. Weren’t even drugs in the food. At this point I kinda wish there were.”

“Did he say where he put the uniform?” Red hood asked and stood up. Red Robin shook his head. “Okay. I’ll go look for it.” Red hood said and left the cart. He didn’t need to ask Red Robin to stay put. He had a feeling that wouldn’t be an issue. 

Red Hood searched through all the nearby carts and no. Nothing. Then he gave it a second thought. 

‘ _ The guy seems to be a tease.  _ If _ Tim managed to get out he’d have to find his suit. This is just a game. It’d be more fun to see him wander desperately for a longer amount of time _ .’ 

Reaching his conclusion Red Hood went to the carts that would take longer to reach. He found the suit in the cart where the mystery man had been. It was hidden under a crate. Not well hidden, but still hidden. Hood sighed and brought the suit back to the younger ex Robin. 

“Found it.” he said and threw the suit in Red Robin’s direction. The younger caught it gratefully. Red Hood took his jacket back and left the cart to let his ‘replacement’ change in peace. Just for a short while though. He entered the cart and snapped a picture of Red robin in an awkward posture trying to get his suit on. 

“What the hell Hood?! What’s that for?!”

“Glorious blackmail. What else?” Red Hood answered with a grin. Not that Red Robin could see it. 

“I hate you so fucking much, you fucking asshole.” 

Oh the glare Red Robin sent his way was definitely worth it. Red Hood laughed and walked away. Red Robin made quick work of getting dressed now and quickly followed his predecessor. 

In this new light Red Hood got a better look of the youngster. His lips were a bit swollen and a small reddish purple mark hid just under his jaw. 

“Holy shit…” Red Hood muttered with amusement.

“What?” Red Robin asked, not quite so amused.

“Nothing~”

“Hood. What is it?” 

“Nothing!” Red hood answered again and laughed, “Just thinking that you must have bored in that cart all on your own, huh?”

Red Robin raised an eyebrow but Red Hood did not miss the blush that was starting to appear.

“Shut up.” the younger muttered. 

Red Robin made a point to part ways as quickly as possible. 

Red Hood made quick work with telling Nightwing that Red Robin was found, safe and sound, and that he was on his way home. Nightwings relief was enough to almost rub off on Red hood. 

‘ _ That relief… Has he ever felt such relief regarding me, I wonder… _ ’ he found himself thinking on his way back. A reluctant thought, but yet it was still there. 

A quick check in on the neighbours. Eren’s room was dark. Red Hood then found the boy outside on the stairs with Gary. They seemed to just enjoy the fresh air. Under the hood, Jason smiled.

‘ _ Good. Gary needs more friends. _ ’

He went into his apartment and took a shower before joining Kori and Roy for movie marathons. They’d seen the movies plenty of times before so Jason briefed the two on his latest mission, if you can call it that. He showed them the picture and they had a good laugh.

Home had never felt so… homely. 


	5. An unexpected partnership

Jason was at the manor. Roy and Kori are having a “date weekend” and Jason, not dating either of them, decided to stay out of the way. He had them promise to keep an eye on the neighbours and they had agreed without hesitation. 

Jason would never admit it, but sometimes he actually missed being in the manor. He missed Alfred and the library. The gym was a nice bonus too. 

He didn’t mind helping out in the cave but he preferred to stick to the books he had read more times than there are numbers in pi. He’s the one responsible for the book covers looking the way they do. Worn and well used. You could see which chapters he read the most. He once got into a fight with Tim because of the state of the books. When Jason lived here before his death he had a tendency of writing predictions on the pages, ‘spoilers’ Tim called them, and also some etymology, explanations of words he didn’t know the meaning of. 

Some covers even had tape on them to keep them from falling apart. 

To Jason’s dismay, it turned out that Damian also enjoyed books. Not that that is bad in and of itself, but the demon brat uses “cat ears” to mark the pages. It hurts Jason’s heart to see the crease on the edge of the pages in some of his favorite books. That had also earned its fair shares of fights. Just fucking use a bookmark, you savage. 

At the moment, though, Jason was sitting in the cave with Tim. Tim was upgrading some gear and Jason was sorting through some files. Then he smirked and looked over at Tim. 

“I can feel you looking at me, Jason. What is it?” Tim said without looking up from the device he was working on.

“You never explained how you got those marks on your neck that day. When you met with Horus?”

Jason could see the blush building up on Tim’s face, despite his best attempts to keep composure.

“You’re an adult, aren’t you? And a detective. I’m sure you know how those marks are made.” 

“You fucked the enemy?” 

Silence. “Oh shiiit. The enemy fucked you??”

“ **_What?!_ ** No!! Of course not! No he was just being a tease! A… A horrible tease!” Tim was so flustered right now. Jason chuckled, then sighed.

“Okay. But in all seriousness… Do I need to kill the little shit? It wasn’t like full on rape? Right?” Tim sighed and shook his head.

“No… Strangely enough, he always asked for consent no matter what he did. Sure. He gave me hickeys just for the sake of embarrassment, but… Other than that, no. He didn’t rape me.”

“So that means~” Jason’s playful voice came back. “You  _ asked _ for whatever happened~?”

“ _ No!! _ He offered! Besides! It was just a blo- ..b-b... blowjob …” Tim’s voice became very quiet near the end of his sentence but the echo in the cave more than made up for it. Jason snorted and enjoyed the blush on his brother’s face. “Don’t tell Damian.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t. I’m not going to waste good blackmail material like that.”

Jason couldn’t see Tim’s face, but he could practically feel him rolling his eyes. “Okay. So what actually happened? Give me deets.” 

“I got a solid lead on him, he didn’t appreciate it… so he found me before I could find him.” Tim said with a sigh. “He fights dirty, Jason. Really dirty. He doesn’t seem very experienced in martial arts like we are, but he still managed to take me down so easily. I’m not even entirely sure about how it happened.” 

“Have you checked the footage from your mask?”

“Yeah. It’s mostly static. You can barely make out anything from it.” 

“Have you shown B?”

“Are you crazy? Of course not. If he manages to clear up the picture he’ll see- ...that. No. I won’t let Bruce handle this. It’s my mess.” 

Jason sighed and muttered a small ‘whatever’ before returning to his files. 

It wasn’t long after that that Bruce came over in his suit, gathering his gear as he went to the batmobile, Damian not far behind. Neither Tim nor Jason had to ask what’s up. It was the batsignal.

“Do you need me to come with?”

“Do as you wish. But we’re leaving now.” Bruce said in his usual, cold Batman voice. Tim shrugged and stood up from his seat. He was already dressed in full gear.

“Yeah I’m staying here. Can’t be bothered. Have fun, ya’ll.” Jason said and gave a casual wave. Batman grunted in acknowledgement and hopped into the batmobile. Robin and Red Robin followed him close. The engine roared and before Jason had the time to blink the batmobile had left the cave.

Jason kept a close ear on the coms in case someone needed to reach the cave. Alfred came down with some tea for Jason and he accepted it with a grateful smile. 

Some time passed, then Batman’s voice came from over the coms.

“ _ Hood. A policeman has been killed. We need you on the field to help track down the killer. _ ”

Jason sighed deeply, let out a groan before informing Batman that he was on his way. He grabbed his gear reluctantly and off he went. On his way to the actual city Red Robin contacted him.

“ _ Hood. I think I have an idea who it was. _ ”

“Spill.” 

“ _On the policeman’s desk there was a letter._ _And I think you’re going to get a kick out of this. Guess what it was marked with?_ ”

“I don’t know, double R. Just tell me.”

“ _ Get this. A  _ Horus _ eye, Hood. _ ”

Red Hood sighed heavily. 

‘ _ A Horus eye. Can only be one guy. _ ’

“What does the letter say?”

“ _ Have yet to find out. Just… Do you want me to tell B? _ ”

There was a nice thought. Red Robin actually cared about Red Hood’s opinion. Red Hood smiled under his helmet.

“Do as you please. He’ll find out eventually anyways. Give me your location and I’ll be there in a jiffy.”

Red Robin sent his coordinates and Red Hood made his vehicle speed up, until he saw something on the roof tops. The silhouette was very familiar. Red Hood pulled over and quickly grappled his way to the rooftop. He didn’t expect the figure to still be there by the time he got there, but maybe it left behind a trail?

Red Hood did not need to search the roof for clues. He was met with a short boy. 

“Hello, Red Hood. I’m glad you saw me.”

The figure sat on a rusty air vent. The light reflected in a pair of glasses.

“Horus…” Red Hood snarled a little. Horus had the guts to grin. 

Horus’ posture was perfect. There was not a wrinkle on his clothes. The only thing off was the messy hair. 

“Indeed. I don’t usually do this, but you’re supposed to be some sort of hero right? You help people.” Horus said and stood up, brushing off some dirt from his pants.

“Depends on my mood and the one in need.” Red Hood answered coldly. 

“Your cute little bird friend has probably already informed you about a letter on the dead policeman’s desk. Correct?”

“Yeah about Red Robin. I have a thing or two to talk-”

“That letter has ‘my’ symbol on it.” Horus continued, ignoring the vigilante. He began pacing the roof. “In that letter it says something along the lines of ‘Watch your back. Your end is near.’ I’m here to tell you that I did not, infact, plant that letter there.” Under the helmet Jason frowned. “You, of course, will probably doubt my word. But let me tell you a little something about me.  _ I _ don’t give a heads up. If I want you dead, you’re fucking dead, mate.”

“If not you, then who did?”

“A certain man who goes by the name of ‘Peter Vogel’. I need your help because he knows I’m coming for him so he’s hiding. I need someone he doesn’t expect. That lucky someone is you mr. Hood~! Congratulations!”

“No. I’m not helping you.” Red Hood said. His voice left no room for arguing. Yet somehow, Horus found a hidden corner and spoke.

“Why? Because I teased your little friend to oblivion? Oh please. We both had a good time~!” 

Red Hood growled and grabbed Horus by the throat. He saw green. Horus didn’t budge though. He let it happen and didn’t even seem surprised by it. He just lifted a hand to adjust his glasses.

“You seem calm.” Hood all but growled. “Don’t be fooled by the bat on my chest. I wouldn’t feel bad throwing you off this roof.”

“Oh~ Scary~” Horus said and his eyes trailed down to Hood’s chest. “But if you kill me, the real culprit will still be out there. Hoodie-”

“Don’t call me that”

“...” Hood saw a grin spread on Horus’ face and he knew what was coming before he heard it. “Hoodie.” Horus said again and Hood groaned. “I need your help. ...Please? I’ll make it worth your while. I don’t expect you to help me for free, just as I don’t help others for free. Someone hired me to get the little bird boy off their trail, so I lured him away with another, far more interesting trail.”

Hood frowned and his grip on the other loosened a bit. 

“Did you just compliment yourself?”

“Does it matter? Look. Helping me will help you too. I’m the best version of me there is. Having a copycat of me will not end well.” 

Hood sighed. He didn’t have enough information about Horus to confirm his statement. But he guessed there was no real harm in helping the brat with this particular task.

“Fine. But only because you’ll owe me a favor later.”

“Fair enough~” Horus said. Hood let go of the shorter boy…? Man…? and started heading in a direction. Horus followed him closely and almost… eagerly?

“By the way. Red Robin said that you didn’t want to be found. Yet here you are, saying that  _ you _ planted the leads?”

“Yes well. I may or may not have lied about that part. He didn’t have any use of the truth so I gave him false information.” Horus shrugged. “Simple as that.” 

Hood sighed deeply, Where was even the logic in that? 

‘ _ I should inform Tim about that later… _ ’

Red Hood and Horus found their way to the ground and Hood led them to his vehicle. 

“Us sharing a bike doesn’t make us close. Got it?” 

“Yes yes. If you say so Hoodie.”

Red Hood now realized his mistake in visibly taking offense of the nickname.


	6. Into the lion's den

To Hood’s surprise, Horus actually stayed pretty quiet during the ride. They had agreed to meet up with Red Robin before heading off to...wherever. Red Robin was a control freak, and having Hood already being late probably freaked the replacement the fuck out. Having Hood not show up at all would prove to be a nightmare later on. 

Once the vehicle stopped and the two riders got off, Horus didn’t do much else.

“I’ll just… Wait here. You go talk to Birdboy.” 

Normally, Hood wouldn’t argue. It was a fair enough request but-

“Nu-uh. Don’t trust you enough to leave you alone. You’re coming with. Don’t like that idea? Tough fucking shit.” Hood said and grabbed Horus’ arm. “Should have thought about that before throwing yourself into this mess.” 

Horus had the audacity to groan as he got pulled along. Hood managed to grapple them both onto the rooftop. He could hear some humming and he grinned under his helmet. It was some pop song from the radio and Hood immediately recognized the voice.

‘ _ So this is what you do when you think nobody hears, Timmy? _ ’

He was planning on sneaking up on his replacement, but Horus just  _ had _ to open his mouth.

“Your voice is sweet as ever, cutiepie. I missed it!”

Red Robin flinched and turned around. He quickly got into battle stance with his bo staff on the ready. Hood could hear the younger mutter Horus’ name. “You even remember my name. I’m flattered.”

Horus grinned and Red Robin scowled.

“Stand down, double R. He’s on our side.” Red Hood made sure to say before things had a chance to escalate. 

“For now~” Horus added. Red Robin did not seem pleased.

“Hood. I know we’ve had our differences. And I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but we  _ can’t  _ trust this guy! Much less  _ work _ with him! We don’t know his motives or… anything about him really!”

Red Hood could almost feel that Horus was about to open his big mouth again so he spoke up before the other had a chance to.

“I know that we have the same goal. He wants to find the one who planted the letter and he made a pretty good point. And he gave me a good lead. Peter Vogel is the man we’re looking for. Horus has reason to believe that the man is trying to become a copycat.” Red Robin groaned a little. “Did you read the letter?”

“I did.” the younger answered and took out the letter and read it. “It says ‘your days are numbered. Almighty Horus is giving you three days to live. Watch your back.’. Pretty weak for a threatening letter if you ask me.”

Horus grumbled something. Hood couldn’t make out any words but it was clear that the other was not happy.

“What kind of dick calls himself ‘almighty’? That’s just… Euw” Hood commented and Red Robin nodded, agreeing with the statement. 

“That’s another reason to catch this guy. So~! Birdy? We working together on this one, or what~?” Horus said and batted his eyelashes with a flirtatious grin. “We had fun last time, didn’t we?”

Red Robin snarled a little. 

“Hood. We can’t cooperate with this guy.”

“Ouch. Cold.” Horus winced. Red Robin ignored him. 

“He’s fishy and-”

“I get it. You don’t like him. But I really think we can benefit from this little partnership so suck it up, buttercup.” Hood responded, ignoring Horus’ cooing in the background. “I think he can help us find this Peter fella faster but I don’t trust him to actually get close to the guy. Someone needs to guard him and since you are our best hacker, aside from O, I think you should guard him.”

“Well I’m not taking him to the cave or one of my safehouses!”

“We can use one of mine. I got some neat tools there that you can use. I’m abandoning that place next week anyways.” Horus shrugged and this time he didn’t get ignored. Red Hood and Red Robin narrowed their eyes at him, not that you could see that due to Red Hood’s helmet, but the point stands. 

“How can we be sure this isn’t a trap?” Red Robin asked, voice laced with suspicion. “How do  _ I  _ know that you’re not going to… You know…”

“As fun as I had during our time together, birdboy, you ain’t that special. I have others to fool around with. And I came to you for help, didn’t I? Only fair for me to provide the tools needed for the job.” Horus explained.

“You’ll be cuffed.” Red Robin crossed his arms.

“Nothing I’m not used to~!”

“Do you ever say anything that  _ doesn’t _ have a sexual innuendo?” Hood growled a little.

“Don’t make it so easy then! Pick your words carefully! Now then. My safehouse isn’t far from here. Shall we?” Horus said as he held out his hands to Red Robin, allowing himself to be cuffed.

Red Robin looked reluctant and hesitantly put a pair of handcuffs around Horus’ hands. He looked at Red Hood, silently begging the other to do this instead but the older of the two didn’t oblige.

“We’ll keep in touch through coms. I’ll keep going through my patrol until the two of you find something.” With a salute he hopped off the rooftop and made his way to the vehicle.

Red Hood can’t say he’s comfortable with leaving his replacement with this Horus guy, but he has faith that Red Robin can defend himself. He has proven as much during all those attempts Red Hood made on his life. 

Hood will die again before admitting to any of the bats that he actually feels bad about that. But he can’t lie to himself. Red Robin didn’t deserve all the shit that he put him through. 

Red Robin is strong. Red Hood is amazed that he even dares to be in the same building as him after all that has happened. 

~-~

Red Robin watched his predecessor’s form disappear, leaving him with this new… Villain? He wasn’t actually sure where to put this guy. But if he has any positive connection with Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke… Well that can’t be good. 

He didn’t like Horus for obvious reasons. After what happened in the train car anyone in his shoes would feel uncomfortable.

Sure. Red Robin had consented to everything that went down, and as soon as a ‘no’ left his lips the other man had backed off immediately. He’s not exactly sure how they managed to get as far as they did, but he didn’t like that he had been swayed so easily. 

‘ _ I won’t allow that to happen twice _ ’ the ex Robin thought. 

“Lead the way, Horus. Any funny business and I’ll be sure to make you regret it.” he grunted and Horus more than happily went to the fire escape.

They walked in silence for a while once they were down on the ground.

It was a stiff silence. For him at least. Horus didn’t seem too bothered. Then a small frown formed on the other’s face.

“Do you consider it rape?” he asked suddenly.

“Pardon?” Red Robin was taken aback by the question.

“What happened in the train car. Do you consider it rape?”

Red Robin observed the cuffed man. He was playing almost anxiously with his thumbnail and looked down on his feet. 

Red Robin stayed silent for a while, considering the question. He hadn’t really given it much thought to be honest. He doesn’t really think it can be considered such. He gave consent, Horus always made sure his moves were accepted, he stopped when Red Robin asked, and none of the males were penetrated. Red Robin had not been drugged in any way either.

Horus grew increasingly anxious as the silence dragged on.

Red Robin sucked his teeth a little before answering.

“No. It just feels like a one night stand. An awkward one that isn’t exactly memorable or appreciated. But no. I don’t consider it to have been rape.”

Horus released a deep breath and visibly relaxed. This must have bothered him more than it bothered himself. “This doesn’t mean everything is cool between us though! I’m still mad at you!”

‘ _ Though I can’t really put my finger on why… He’s a frustrating presence. _ ’

Horus giggled. Red Robin couldn’t help but feel like Horus put on a mask again. Like that anxious boy next to him had been his true self, and that this annoying, confident and teasing personally was nothing more but an act.

“Whatever makes you sleep at night. This way.” Horus made a turn and they walked through an alley. They went down a flight of stairs to a rusty door, probably leading to a basement. Horus opened the unlocked door and led his “guest” through a few corridors before opening another unlocked door. It was a simple room. A worn, gray couch in the middle with a coffee table in front of it, a minifridge in a corner, a small table next to it and a desk with a computer on it. There’s no TV. There  _ are _ , however, two bookcases filled to the brim with different books. The walls were an ugly yellow and the floor was probably just concrete.

There are no windows, no decorations except from a small rug under the couch, not even a stove. There’s another door that Red Robin guessed led into a bathroom.

In short. This room had no personality or anything that could make it feel like home. 

“The password to the computer is under the keyboard.” Horus informed and threw himself on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. 

Red Robin eyed him a little before going to the computer and checked under the keyboard.

‘ _ Fucc m3 ddy TL ma fASE PHAls OpH’ _

Red Robin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

‘ _ How childish _ ’

“How old are you? Nine?”

“That information will cost you, cutie~!” Horus giggled. “You can’t deny that it’s a great password.”

“It would be. If you didn’t have it written down in a place so easily accessed.” Red Robin said and typed in the password.

“Duly noted. Okay! So this Vogel, guy. If I remember correctly he works at a convenience store.” Horus was quick to change the subject. “I met him the first time in Crime alley close to a convenience store so I’m guessing it was there.”

Red Robin sighed. That information didn’t help much. He asked for an address and the response he got was a vague description of the area. Not much better but it was good enough.

For now. They’d get their answers soon enough. Red Robin always did. 


	7. Pizza Time

Red Robin was sitting in Horus’ safe house trying to find a face and location of their culprit. Horus had taken to reading on the couch, seemingly not bothering to even lend a hand anymore, only to take a look at the picture Red Robin showed every now and then and tell him that “No. That ain’t the guy.”

“Okay. So when did you say you met the guy the first time?”

“A few months back.”

“I need something more specific. Preferably a time and date.”

Horus seemed to be thinking, then just shrugged. “You mean to tell me you don’t write down meetings anywhere? In a calendar? Your phone?”

“I do. But they’re not in this safe house! And I don’t have a phone for this work anyways. Too easy to hack. But! I can tell you I met the guy in March!”

“I’m not reviewing a whole months worth of footage for this, Horus!” 

“Well that’s your loss, innit, sweetcheeks?”

Red Robin might be imagining it, but he thinks that Horus might be glaring at him. It’s hard to tell with those big glasses. Red Robin clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes before getting to work on hacking the cameras and finding the flies. 

Horus seemed to be pouting and after a while he opened his mouth again.

“Try March 12th. Around 10Am.”

The constant voice change makes it hard to tell, but he almost seemed reluctant to give away the information. 

‘ _ Oddly specific. _ ’ Red Robin thought with a frown but found the footage. The footage shows Horus sitting on a dumpster in the shadows of the alley, perfectly still. The footage is sped up, but had it not been it would have shown Horus sitting perfectly still for over an hour. 

‘ _ Creepy _ ’

A man exits the convenience store and peeks into the alley. Horus finally moves. Red Robin slows the footage. The man has blonde hair and looks a bit scrawny and, with lack of a better word,  _ nerdy _ . 

“That’s the guy?” he asks. Horus walks up to him and checks. 

“Yup. That’s him. Peter Vogel.” Horus says with what sounds like spite.

“Okay. I’ll send the footage to Red Hood and we’ll see if he recognizes the guy. If not I’ll put it through a face recognition system and we’ll go from there.” Red Robin explained and downloaded that specific piece of footage. 

“Why not put it through the recognition system right away?”

“Waste of resources. If we can just ask Red Hood, then that’s easier and less of an effort.” 

Horus nodded his understanding. 

“Okay. I get it.” There was a stiff silence while Red Robin sent the information to Red Hood. “Sooo.” Horus said. “Want a snack~? Or something to eat? I’m starving.”

“No thanks.” Red Robin politely declined.

“Then at least uncuff me so I can go to the pizzeria around the corner?”

“Take something from the fridge instead, I don’t trust you.”

“I  _ would _ . But the only food in that mini fridge is an apple that has seen better days. Like. ‘It deserves a proper burial’ type of better days.”

Red robin sighed deeply.

"Order something then."

"No phone. Remember?" Horus reminded with a grin. "You probably do though. Seeing as you call the cops once the baddies are tied up and ready for pick up."

"Yeah. It's meant for stuff like that. Calling backup or police. Not a fucking pizzeria. It’s a help line!”

“So call for help! Call the pizzeria to help us in our time of hunger!”

Red Robin groaned loudly but Horus just giggled. 

“Fine. We’ll go to the fucking pizzeria. This is ridiculous.” he grunted and stood up bitterly. Horus gestured at the handcuffs and Red Robin clicked his tongue. “I don’t trust you not to run away. The cuffs stay on.”

Horus looked unimpressed.

“Because that wouldn’t look suspicious.. Besides! You could easily catch me again if I were to run. Come on!”

“I’ll take them off outside the pizzeria then!” Red Robin huffed and they left the safehouse. 

The walk was spent in silence aside from Horus’ gleeful humming. Red Robin eyed the humming male suspiciously, looking for any sign that the other were about to run. There weren’t many people out, but the few that were gave them odd looks. They reached the quiet pizzeria and Red Robin unlocked the cuffs. “Keep within sight or so help me, you’ll feel my wrath.”

“Thus saith the lord.” Horus said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Don’t worry. I told you. I won’t try to run.” he continued before entering the pizzeria. For obvious reasons the vigilante didn’t follow. Red Robin kept to the shadows and kept an eye on his captive. He frowned. Horus offered a warm and sweet smile to the man behind the desk who seemed half asleep just a second ago. Horus seemed to be small talking with the probable owner, and the owner seemed to appreciate it. The man behind the desk wrote something down on a piece of paper, probably the order.

Horus went to sit down by a window. Red Robin and Horus’ eyes met and the latter smirked before pointedly taking up-

Red Robin glared and breathed heavily. 

‘ _ So the bastard  _ did _ have a phone. _ ’

Around fifteen minutes passed before two boxes with pizza appeared on the desk. Horus put away his phone and stood from his seat, taking up his wallet. He paid for the food before leaving the store with the boxes. Red Robin approached, trying his best to hide his anger.

“You said you didn’t have phone. Was there a point to lying?” he asked.

“I hope you don’t have any allergies. I got you a vesuvio.” Horus said, ignoring the question. He went in the direction of the safehouse and Red Robin stopped him.

“Answer. The. Question.” 

Horus sighed.

“I just said I don’t have a work phone. And I basically just wanted to tease you a little~! Relax! No harm, no fault. Let’s get back before the pizza gets cold.”

Red Robin contemplated cuffing Horus again, but the latter was carrying the pizzas so he figured here was no real need. For now. 

They reached the safehouse again and Horus put the boxes on the coffee table. 

“Knife and for or scissors and hands?” Horus tried and failed to hold back a giggle. “Edward. Edward scissorhands.”

“You think you’re  _ so _ funny? Don’t you?”

“You’re no fun.” Horus commented and walked to a box in the bookshelf.

“Scissors are fine.”

“Ah~ A man of culture, I see.” Horus grinned and took out the scissors from the box before sitting down on the couch, handing the pair to Red Robin. Reluctantly he sat down on the couch next to Horus and they took their pizza boxes. 

“I do have some red bull in the fridge but that’s about it. Take one if you want,” 

“I’m good, thanks.” Red Robin said bitterly. As soon as he cut up his slices Horus took one. “ _ Hey _ !!”

“Just a courtesy.” Horus said and munched on the slice. “To soothe your potentially paranoid head, just in case. Sort of a way to prove that your food ain’t poisoned.”

‘ _ Huh. That’s actually kinda nice. I hadn’t even thought about that. I wonder why… _ ’

“...Thanks… I guess.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s a win win. You get soothed, I get more pizza.” Horus giggled. 

They sat and ate in silence for a while.

“So… Are you a bad guy?” Red Robin finally asked.

“I’m where the benefit is. I’m not evil and I’m not a hero. I don’t do bad things for the sake of being bad, but I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. But I also don’t help others for the sake of being good and helping.” Horus shrugged. “Right now the benefit lies with being on your side, catching this baddie, so that’s what I’ll do.” 

Red Robin hummed. He didn’t expect Horus to answer so honestly. Or at least it seemed like an honest answer. “Can I ask  _ you _ a question now?” Red Robin shrugged.

“Don’t see why not. Shoot.”

“What’s with that weird clown guy that has covered the newspapers through the years?”

“You mean Joker?” Red Robin asked with a frown.

“Maybe? I don’t know. Is that his name?” 

‘ _ How could you not know?! _ ’ Red Robin screamed in his head. 

“Yeah. There are two ‘clowns’ in Gotham. Joker and Harley Quinn. And since you-”

“Harlequin? Like the devil clown thing?” Horus snorted. 

“No. As a name, dummy. H a r l e y Q u i n n.”

“What a stupid pun.” Horus giggled and took a slice of his pizza.

‘ _... Oh my God. It’s been a pun all this time. Fucking hell. How have I not thought about that before? I feel so_ ** _stupid!_** _I mean sure. A pun from_ Harleen Quinzel _but not like… Oh my God.._ ’

“ **_Anyways!_ ** Since you said ‘guy’, I guess it’s the Joker that you mean. He’s a dangerous killer clown. How have you not heard about him? He’s quite famous.”

“Infamous.” Horus corrected. “He’s not famous for something good, seeing as you said ‘killer clown’. He’s  _ In _ famous.”

“ _ Whatever!  _ You know what I meant!” Red Robin scoffed. “Anyways… He’s the very definition of crazy. He’s a psychopath. He- … He killed someone close to me, just for kicks.”

“He seems to have an unhealthy obsession with that Batguy.” Horus commented.

“Batman.” Red Robin corrected somewhat bitterly. “And yeah. His motives are unclear, but he’s playing around with Batman’s ‘no killing’ rule.”

Horus muttered something like ‘ _ That’s stupid _ ’ but Red Robin couldn’t make out the same exact words. “He’s very dangerous,” he continued to warn. “Consider yourself lucky if you don’t know too much. Less terror that way...”

Horus hummed and kept eating his pizza. 

“Good to know…” he mumbled. 

Red Robin’s phone buzzed and he opened it to reveal Red Hood confirming that he recognizes the guy. 

“Red Hood just wrote. He said he knows the guy. He’ll be looking around through his contacts. The investigation will continue tomorrow.” he informed and stood up. “Give me your number so we can stay in contact.” 

“There are nicer and more romantic ways to ask for my number, cutie~” Horus said with a grin, but did as told. “So… I won’t be under supervision?”

“For now.” Red Robin admitted grumpily. “I’m heading back to my safe house but remember. I can easily hack into your device just by knowing your number. Don’t try any funny business.” 

“Fair enough.” Horus said and followed his guest to the door. “By the way. Before you go… You might want to watch yourself.” he warned before kissing his cheek and murmuring in his ear. “You laugh in your sleep.” 

Horus pulled back and smiled almost gently. “It’s kinda creepy. Not that I mind. My mom used to do the same when dad was away. Buuut….. Something tells me that you don’t care much about my opinion.”

If Horus noticed that Red Robin grew stiff and uncomfortable, he didn’t comment, and for that Red Robin was very grateful.

“You’re right. I don’t.” he tried to brush it off all casual like, but something told him it didn’t come out that way. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Horus nodded and sent him away with a smile. 

Tim was very relieved when he finally reached his own safe house. It really fulfilled its purpose with being safe. He quickly removed his uniform and went to take a  _ long _ shower. He tried not to think about this weird time spent with a potential enemy. He was not comfortable at all with Horus having seen him sleep, much less heard him laugh in said sleep. 

He finished his shower and went to his living room after putting on some comfortable clothes. He put on a movie and decided to overanalyze that instead of overanalyzing Horus’ words. 

The sleep he got that night could hardly be called sleep. More like a lengthy nap.

' _I'm so going to hack his phone number.... I have to know who he actually is. There is no way his name is_ actually _Horus.... Is there...?_ '


	8. Boring but necessary phone calls

Jason woke up to the scent of food. He was lying with his face on Kori’s chest. Roy had volunteered to keep an eye out on Jason’s phone for any news on that ‘Peter Vogel’ guy. Jason grunted sleepily and snuggled into the soft skin under his head. He felt arms wrap around him and a small kiss was planted on his head. 

He looked up sleepily and was met with Kori’s green eyes and kind smile.

“Good Morning, Jason.” she greeted. 

“Mornin’ Kori… Did I wake ya?”

Kori shook her head with a smile, her red hair falling into her eyes slightly. 

“Not at all. I woke up a little earlier. You’re really cute when you sleep.” she commented and ran a hand through his hair that was messy from the previous night’s activities. 

“You should sleep naked more often, Jason.” she murmured and moved her leg a little. Jason only just now noticed that it was positioned conveniently between his own legs. Jason let out a soft grunt before chuckling. 

“Last night wasn't enough for you, princess?” he asked and pushed himself up on his elbows, towering over the Tamaranean with a sly smirk. 

“It was enough for last night. Not enough for this morning.” she said and leaned up to kiss Jason. 

The bedroom door opened and the smell of food grew stronger.

“Aww man. You’re going at it without me? So not cool.” Roy’s voice exclaimed. 

“You are more than welcome to join us Roy, dear.” the princess invited with a kind smile, holding out a hand to her boyfriend. 

“I’d love nothing more, princess. But Jaybird here has work to do. And we have breakfast to eat. Then we have another little princess to pick up, don’t we?”

Jason sat up sleepily. 

“Oh. That’s right.” he yawned and stretched. “When will she be here?”

“Eh… We’re leaving at around 10:30. Hopefully we’ll be back before noon.” Roy explained while preparing comfortable morning clothes for Jason and Kori. “And I’d be very grateful if you’d put away your guns during her stay.” he added.

“Oh shit. Right. Of course. Ahm… So did any information come in?” Jason asked while accepting the shirt he was offered. He’d shower properly later.

“Yeah. Just about twenty minutes ago. I didn’t read too closely but I think you got a hit.” 

“Would you like help finding this person?” Kori offered while putting on a short sleeping dress.

“Nah. I’ll be fine. He’s not much of a threat. More like an annoyance.” Jason explained. The princess nodded her understanding.

They got dressed and followed Roy out to the kitchen.

A lot of people seem to think that Roy is a disaster in the kitchen but he’s actually very good. Not as good as Jason, but he’s more than good enough. He kind of has to be. Kori’s sense of human flavours is horrible and seeing as Jason isn’t always around… If Roy didn’t know how to cook they’d starve to death, and with Roy having a kid and all… Well. He can’t afford to be bad in the kitchen. 

Jason grabbed his phone and took his seat by the window. He stated scrolling through the responses on his little request while Roy poured up the breakfast for the trio. Eggs and bacon. Simple but good enough. Easy to make. Perfect to feed all of Kori’s stomachs without much effort.

The text that Jason had received regarding mr. Vogel was a relief. He was easy to track. Had obvious patterns. Just a few hours left and he’d be able to approach the little cockroach. He hummed contently and glanced out the window. Tiffany was sitting by her desk, working away on homework probably. Eren wasn’t in his room so he was probably eating breakfast. Olga’s window had cats in it. Olga always gives her cats the luxury treatment and therefore they get her bedroom. Jason’s eyes usually skip Gary’s window since the blinds were always closed. Not today though. Early morning and the windows were open. Gary was moving around his room and gathering his things. 

‘ _ Cleaning? _ ’ Jason thought and sipped the orange juice that joined his breakfast. He smiled. ‘ _ Good on him. _ ’

Jason couldn’t help but feel proud of his neighbour. He wasn’t surprised when Gertrude entered the room to help out. 

“Something interesting going on with the neighbours, Jay-Jay?” Roy asked. 

“Hm? No. Not really. Gary is cleaning, is all.” 

“He is? Damn. Good on him. He doesn’t look distressed though, does he?”

“Nah. A bit frustrated, but content it looks like. Grateful too.” 

“Is it normal to spy on those who live next door?” Kori asked. “Richard always told me it was rude to stare.”

“Yeah. Ahm… It’s not normal, per se. But this is harmless! We’re just looking out for them. But it’s better if they don’t know about it, kay Star? They might take it the wrong way.” Roy explained. 

The alien looked confused but nodded with a small frown.

Breakfast went by and Jason took to cleaning. Dishes, guns, arrows, clothes, the sex toys in the bedroom, and other things that probably shouldn’t be out in the open. 

“Jason? Roy and I are going to have showersex. Care to join?” Kori offered as if she was just inviting Jason to follow to the store.

“Nah. I’m good. I need to report back to Tim and shit.”

Kori nodded and left for the bathroom with her boyfriend. Jason kept cleaning before heading to the couch with his phone and laptop. Jason said ‘report back to Tim’, but really he just sent the other a text. 

‘Found him’

Simple as that. He figured that maybe he should have asked how things went with Horus, but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to care much. 

‘ _ Replacement can handle himself. If he can’t, well, sucks to be him I guess. _ ’

Jason tries to not call Tim ‘replacement’ to his face anymore. Not after a particularly annoying argument with Dick. Nothing stopped him from referring to the brat as ‘replacement’ in his head though.

Tim replied right away with a thumbs up. Soon after that Tim called. Jason picked up and grunted in acknowledgement but didn’t say anything.

“ _ Sorry.. Wrong number. I was trying to reach Jason Todd, not Bruce Wayne. _ ” Tim said. Jason could hear the clicking of keys from Tim’s keyboard on the other side of the line.

“If you refer to me as B again you’re going to wish I really  _ did _ kill you.”

“ _ Which time? _ ” 

Jason took a deep breath.

‘ _ Don’t let him get to you. Don’t let him get to you! _ ’

He repeated that thought a few times.

“What do you want Re- ahm… Repulsive brat.” 

‘ _ Saved it _ ’

“ _ Nice save, you big baby. I just need details. Where’s mr. Vogel? How will we approach this? What do I tell Horus? When will we take action? Should I tell B? _ ”

Jason sighed. 

“We can take action in a few hours. He should be on break from his shift by then. Tell N if you must tell someone, but not B.”

“ _ Jay? This is B’s case too. The police came to  _ him _. _ ”

“So tell him you’ll handle it? It’s an easy enough task. Gives him time to work on more important things. And I’m sure he wouldn’t mind handing things over to his little golden boy.” 

Tim was quiet for a while, only the tapping of his fingers on the keyboard sounding. 

“Timmy?”

“ _ Yeah. Still here. Just… Fixing a few things… _ ” The tapping ceased after a while. “ _ Okay. I’m back. Yeah sure. I mean I guess I could. But it could seem suspicious. I’ll need to fix a report that covers all bases and  _ you _ will have to help me. Lying to B isn’t something I like doing, even if I  _ am _ good at it. _ ” 

“Whatever. I’ll leave it up to you. See ya-”

“ _ Wait!! Do you happen to know a ‘Evan Dosletter’? _ ”

“Ahm… It rings a bell, but can’t say for sure. Why? Someone I need to look up?”

“ _ If you want, but it’s not necessary… But if you do this for me we’ll be even. _ ”

“Ugh… Fine. I’ll look around. Later. We’ll finish this whole Vogel ‘project’ first.” 

“ _ I agree. I’ll contact you when we’re ready on this end. See ya. _ ” 

Jason didn’t bother saying goodbye and hung up. Not even a minute later the phone rings again. He groans and checks the ID.

‘ _ Dick? _ ’

“Yeah? What i-!”

“ _ Little wing!! How’s my adorable little brother?? _ ”

“I think you have the wrong brother.” Jason deadpanned and was about to hang up.

“ _ Don’t be silly, Jason. I really do want to talk to you~ Are you very busy? Wanna go out for lunch with me today? I’m staying in Gotham for a short while! _ ”

“Jesus Dick. Don’t you have a demon to babysit instead?”

“ _ Don’t be mean, Jay-jay. Damian is not a demon! _ ” 

“Dick. His grandfather literally calls himself the Demon’s head.” 

“ _His grandfather, yes. That doesn’t apply to Damian though. He just… He has a few anger issues. And he’s gotten much much better! And besides! I’ll see him later anyways. And I miss you! You’re my precious lil’ bro!_ _We’ll have so much fun! We’ll have lunch together and you can catch me up on your life and then we can take a walk in the park or we can sparr or take on a case together!_ ”

Jason sighed. 

“I already have a case.” he said. Then he remembered something. He may not like it, but Dick has been in the business longer than any of the Robins. He was the first Robin after all. And despite his carefree and gullible attitude he’s also really good at what he does. He’s not as stupid as he appears. “But I do have a question. Maybe you can help.” Dick practically squealed. Jason rolled his eyes at his brother’s excitement. “Evan Dosletter. Where have I heard that name before?” 

The line went silent. 

“ _ Little wing? _ ” Dick said wearily. “ _ What have you gotten yourself into….? _ ” a sigh was heard. “ _ Please, Jason. Try to stay clear of that name. _ ”

Jason frowned. 

“I haven’t really encountered it. I just heard it somewhere. Thought it sounded familiar so… You know…” 

“ _ It’s an alias. For Slade. He uses it for mundane things. _ ”

‘ _ Well shit… Tim. What are you doing? _ ’

“Ah… So that’s why… Thanks Dick.”

“ _ Jason. Promise me to not approach it. _ ”

“Unless he approaches me first,”

“ **_Jason!!_ ** ”

“Okay! Okay! I promise. I’ll keep my distance.”

Dick muttered a small thank you. Jason would say that his brother overreacted, but then he remembered Dick’s relationship with the mercenary and then it didn’t feel like an overreaction anymore. He was just looking out for him, and that actually felt kinda nice. “Ahm… I guess we can grab lunch later, if you still feel like it.” 

Dick seemed to cheer up at that announcement. Jason continued. “I’m working a case so maybe we can use the restaurant close to that?”

“ _ Sure! Absolutely! Oh. Dami is calling. Text the location and a time and I’ll be there! _ ”

“Will do. See ya.” 

They hung up and as promised he texted the location. He sighed and leaned back in his seat.

‘ _ Slade fucking Wilson? God damnit, Tim? _ ’


	9. A lunch and a jog around the neighbourhood

Roy and Kori left at 10:30 and Jason was now alone. He sighed and told Tim that he’s meeting up with Dick and where.

He headed for the diner across the street of the store where Peter Vogel is supposed to work. 

He already saw Dick in the diner through the window and mentally prepared himself. He walked into the diner. Immediately, thanks to “bat-paranoia” he was spotted by the oldest brother. The first born, or well, first taken in. 

He braced himself for the inevitable hug and sure enough;

Dick stood from his seat and pulled Jason into a tight hug and actually snuggled a little. Jason didn’t hug back but did nothing to prevent the hug either. 

He allowed himself a thought.

‘ _ This is nice… I missed this… _ ’

He flustered and finally pushed away.

“Okay. That’s enough, Dickface.” he grumbled and took a seat. 

Dick chuckled and took a seat across from him. 

“It’s good to see you little wing.” Dick said and supported his head with his hand.

“I know.” Jason said and shrugged. “Did you order?”

“Nope! Waited for you. Is Tim coming?” Dick asked and handed Jason a menu. Another shrug.

“Dunno. Maybe. I told him we’d be here.” 

Jason accepted the menu and looked it over. 

“Should we order him a coffee? Just in case?”

“The brat can get his own damned coffee if he craves it so bad. Besides. He has probably already had 5 cups.”

Dick seemed to ponder on that. 

“I’ll get him a coffee anyways. Just in case. So! Wanna fill me in on your case?”

Jason decided on his order and figured it’d be torture for a stiff silence so he thought ‘ _ Eh fuck it. Might as well _ ’

He was not in the mood for one of Dick’s dramatic rants. 

“Remember the guy that we saw on the roof tops a while back? The one with Deathstroke?”

“Horus” Dick nodded. “Yeah sure. The mystery guy.”

“Yes well apparently a cop has been killed in his office. Three was a letter on his desk and there was a Horus eye on it. We assumed Horus lied behind it but turns out he’s being ‘framed’ or something. He’s kinda helping us with this case. He thinks a certain ‘Peter Vogel’ is behind the letter so we’re going to confront him. Easy enough.”

“I don’t know little wing… Getting involved with Horus just like that seems unwise.” 

“It will help us gather information on him easier.”

Dick didn’t seem more at ease, but he at least dropped it for now. 

Tim arrived and got the hug treatment from Dick. Tim looked dead inside as he hugged back. They sat down and predictably the younger bird basically drooled at the thought of coffee.

“You need some real food too, Timmy.” Dick said like the mother hen he was.

A waitress took their orders. Tim just ordered some fries. He was dressed in a casual hoodie and some comfortable looking jeans. His hood was up which probably helped hide his identity a little. Or at least make it less likely to recognize him straight away. 

“So this Vogel guy… Is he tough? Do you need my help?” Dick offered.

“Nah. Scrawny guy. Nothing we can’t handle” Tim said and laid his upper body onto the table. “I don’t think we should invite Horus on this…” he mumbled.

“Aye” Jason agreed. 

“But it feels like a dickmove…”

Dick looked up from his phone. 

“What did I-!?” he stopped himself, pondered over the word and context. “Oh. Nevermind. Carry on.” he said and looked down at his phone again.

“Did you just pull a “Dick joke” on yourself?” Tim questioned. “That’s just sad.”

“Not intentionally....” he murmured, staring more intently at his phone. 

They spent some time in silence. Tim and Jason occasionally look out the window to make sure they don’t miss their target.

Their food arrived and Dick immediately held up his phone and positioned himself for a selfie. 

“Say cheese~”

“Cheddar” Tim deadpanned while sipping his coffee. Jason just gave the finger and looked away from the camera.

“You two are no fun, you know that?” Dick pouted and inspected the photo. He shrugged, probably deciding that’s the best he’ll get. “This is a rare opportunity! You two sitting here, in a diner, not yelling across the table~! Or trying to harm eachother~”

“That can easily change, Dickface.” Jason said and stole some of Tim’s fries. Tim didn’t seem to mind which took all the fun out of it. “So! Tim-Tim. Care to explain?”

Tim answered with a confused expression, not tearing his lips from the cup.

‘ _ He’s going to need a refill instantly _ ’

Jason took a bite from his own food. 

“Evan Dosletter?” he elaborated. The name made Dick uncomfortable and he put away his phone.

“What about him? Did you find out who it was?”

“I did, in fact. Thanks to Dickiebird. Why don’t you tell him~?” Jason suggested and looked at Dick with a small smirk.

“Guys. I really don’t want you two getting involved. Why are you two looking into the name again?”

“I hacked Horus’ phone.” Tim said easily. “It’s written on a certain ‘Evan Dosletter’. Are you guys going to explain already?” Tim was growing impatient.

“Timmy. That’s Slade’s alias.” Dick explained.

Jason and Tim exchanged a look.

“Why would he buy Horus a phone?” Tim asked.

Dick shrugged but looked like he was holding something back. 

“You think they’re dating? Horus certainly seems like his type.” Jason commented. Dick kicked his shin under the table. “Ow-!”

“Low blow, Jason. But no! I don’t think they are. Anyone dating that guy wouldn’t cheat unless they have a deathwish.”

“Or even get involved with him... “ Dick murmured and took a sip from his drink. He looked so low now, Jason kinda regretted his comment. 

“We should probably look into their connection.” 

“Not without me you’re not.” Dick actually glared. “I don’t want you two sticking your nose into Slade’s business. You don’t know him that well. You don’t stand a chance against him if you get involved.”

“Are you sure you wanna be in on a case about him though?” Jason asked. “We can hold our own. We’re not babies.” Dick gave his puppy eyes and Jason tried to resist them. He really did! He even averted his gaze only for his eyes to land on Dick’s expression. He heaved a sigh. “Fine.” he decided. “ _ Fine! _ Nothing about that guy will pass you by.”

He cursed himself for being so weak, but this wasn’t a fair battle. No one-  _ No one! _ \- can resist the infamous puppy eye look from one Dick Grayson. But the relief that replaced his brother’s expression made it worth it.

“Guys. Check it out.” Tim spoke up and nodded his head across the street. There was Horus, just standing there. Leaning against the wall. Not moving an inch. 

“What is  _ he _ doing here?” Jason snarled.

“Probably the same thing  _ we _ are. But the boring way.” Tim frowned. “On the security tape he did the same thing. He just waited for hours not even flinching or adjusting his seat…” 

“Do I need to take care of him?” Dick asked.

“Nah. It’s fine. Probably… I guess he deserves to see the case close…” Jason muttered. They ate some more but they kept a close eye on Horus. 

“I could call in a favor if you want. To trail Horus I mean.” Dick said. 

Tim seemed to be thinking. 

“What kind of a favor?”

“A guy who can kinda teleport and is good at going unspotted. When he wants to, that is…”

Jason and Tim frowned with confusion, then shrugged.

“Hold that thought. We’ll see how this plays out first.” Tim said with a small smile. “-! Check it out!” He moved closer to the window and inspected the scene.

Peter Vogel exited the store and Horus moved to approach him. Peter spotted him and Horus waved but didn’t offer so much as a smile. He moved his lips.

“He says ‘You done fucked up, mr. Vogel’...Or something of the like.” Dick commented.

Peter looked scared out of his mind and made a run for it in the opposite direction. Horus smirked and put his hands in his pockets, then looked around before going for a fire escape ladder. He climbed up on a container and hopped onto the small platform of the fire escape. There was something mesmerizing how he practically flew up onto the platform in that school uniform. 

“Let’s go.” Jason said and stood up. Dick was already taking out his wallet to pay for the food. Tim followed Jason out of the store after Dick assured he’d catch up later.

Tim and Jason rushed across the street to follow Horus over the rooftops. Only he was gone without a trace. 

“Fuck!” Jason cursed while Tim walked to the edge of the rooftop. 

“Come on. We can still track down Peter. He just turned that corner over there.” Tim said and took off his sweatshirt. 

‘ _ Of course. Of fucking course he has his uniform under his clothes… _ ’

“Got a spare grapple?” Jason asked while fishing out his domino mask. He preferred his helmet but he didn’t think of bringing it with him.

‘ _ Fucking stupid ass… _ ’

Tim handed him a grapple and a com and they started moving across the rooftops with ease as soon as Tim put his civilian clothes aside where he was sure no one would find them. They quickly caught up with Peter but kept out of sight. They were trailing him so they could corner him once he stopped. 

Peter looked around anxiously and kept running. He entered a restaurant and a few screams and yells could be heard.

“He’ll probably come out on the other side. He’s trying to take a shortcut through the staff entrance.” Jason, now Red Hood sans the hood. said and shot his grapple toward the building. Tim, now Red Robin, followed suit. This part of town was a bit more run down. Plenty of places to hide. 

They followed Peter to a building which he entered. Red Hood and Red Robin kept an eye on the windows and found their target entered an apartment. Soon enough said target anxiously looked out the window. He seemed to be breathing heavily and slowly calming down. 

Red Hood noticed a small glimmer behind Peter. Light reflecting in glasses.

“Shit. Horus is already inside.”

“What? How??” Red Robin frowned.

“Does it matter?”

Peter turned around and screamed loudly. He was violently pulled away from his window.

Red Hood grappled onto the building and flew in through the window, not caring about the glass and or alerting the two who were already inside. 

He heard whimpers from the other room. He exited the room to find himself in a living room. Very dirty and messy. 

Peter was pressed up against a wall, something sharp held against his throat.

“Hood~ How nice of you to join us.” Horus said with a sweet voice that didn’t match his body language.

“Horus. Put the weapon down.” Red Robin said as he joined them.

“This guy is a filthy rat.” Horus snarled. 

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir Horus, sir!” Peter whimpered.

“Oh~ So now I’m ‘sir’ am I? What changed? The blade against your throat? That’s cute.” 

Peter yelped as the blade was pressed harder against his skin.

“Horus. Let him go. We need answers.” Red Hood warned. 

“What we need is for this little bird to die. He’s caused enough damage.”

This image was odd. Horus was shorter than Peter, and he was in that ridiculous school uniform too. Why was Peter so terrified? Well sure. A blade to his throat. But seriously. 

Horus sighed and pulled away a little before punching Peter right on the nose. Red Hood and Red Robin could hear the bone crack.

Peter yelped again, falling onto the floor, and became a whimpering mess.

“I can take a lot, mr. Vogel.” Horus said, his voice menacing. Red Robin stepped closer. “Stay out of this or I won’t hesitate to cut you too. No matter how sweet your ass is.” Horus said. His words were playful but the seriousness was clear. “Now Mr. Vogel. You have molested me at meetings, you have taken pictures of people’s nude bodies, mine included, without consent, and now you’re trying to steal my identity.” Horus gripped his knife harder.

“W-What pictures? I ain’t got no pictures!”

“ **_SHUT UP!_ ** ” Horus snapped. 

‘ _ Huh… So that’s the story… _ ’ Red Hood thought and got comfortable on the couch. He wouldn’t interfere. 

“You want to be Horus, huh?” Horus took a step closer. “Sucks to be you. I’m the best and ultimate version of me there is. You won’t find anyone like me and you can  _ never _ become me.” 

Horus dropped to his knees and crawled on top of Peter, knife in hand.

“Horus! Don’t! What he did wasn’t fair but this isn’t the way! He’ll get what he deserves!”

“Oh I know.” Horus said and raised his arm.

“Horus! You accepted our help and therefore our terms!! We  _ don’t _ kill!!” Red Robin stressed. 

Horus considered this before shoving the knife into the body under him. Red Robin let out a ‘ **_NO!_ ** ’, Peter screamed and Red Hood couldn’t give less of a shit. 

Peter’s scream became a whimper. 

Red Hood looked over. Horus had stabbed the shoulder. Red Robin sighed with relief.

“Don’t think you’re lucky, Carl-Henry West. You’re going to wish I killed you. I curse you to madness you little shit. And you will curse the bird boy for sparing your pathetic little life.” Horus snarled with pure spite before getting off him. 

“And  _ you _ !” Horus turned to Red Robin. “You are a party pooper. And  _ you _ .” Horus turned to Red Hood. Red Hood raised an eyebrow. “You’re cool. I like you. Wanna come to bed with me? Hunting makes me excited. And you smell homely.”

“A hard pass on that, loverboy. Have two lovebirds at home. That’s enough for me.” 

Horus shrugged.

“Whatever.” Horus said and glared down at Peter- No. Carl-Henry. 

“Horus… Thank you. Really. For… For listening.”

“Don’t thank me. His upcoming fate will be much worse than death could ever be.” Horus said dismissively but Red Hood didn’t miss the small smile that appeared on his face when he got thanked. 

“Do you feel like giving the story?” Red Robin asked. “So we have something to tell the cops?”

“I will send a folder to Commissioner Gordon addressed to you. Or Batman.. That will contain everything they’ll need to put him away. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have places to be, people to see. May our paths cross again~! It was nice. Especially the pizza.” 

Horus winked at Red Robin before leaving. 

Red Robin sighed deeply.

“Well this was an experience…” he said and cuffed Carl-Henry who was still whimpering on the floor. Pathetic piece of shit.

“Pizza?” Red Hood asked with a small smirk. 

“Shut up.” was all Red Robin said before calling the cops and telling Nightwing that the situation is under control.

**_~~.-.-.~~_ **

They split up after the cops came. It was early afternoon when he got back home. He smiled when he heard a small squeal coming from the guest bedroom and Roy’s muffled voice. He double checked so his mask was off.

Jason walked up to the door and knocked on the doorframe. 

“Is that a princess I hear?”

A small gasp, then a loud squeal.

“Uncle Jay-Jay!!” 

A short girl ran over and hugged him. “I missed you!!”

“Missed you too kiddo.” Jason smiled and ruffled her hair, “So! How was princess Lian’s day? I wanna hear  _ all _ about it.” he grinned, saying the exact words he knew the little girl would want to hear. 

He heard Roy chuckle as Lian led Jason in to sit on the floor with her.

She proceeded to tell Jason all about how ‘papa’ and Kori surprised her by picking her up from preschool and how they went for ice cream and went into great detail about the most mundane things. Jason listened intently.

He was the cool uncle, and he wouldn’t hesitate to jump off a bridge for her. He wouldn’t die for her. He would  _ live _ for her. Dying is easy, been there done that. It’s living that is the challenge. A challenge he’d happily take on for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay people! This is the end of the first "arc" or whatever I should call it. The main introductions are done and the sort of "pilot episode" is over and done with. The story isn't over though, mind you!  
> So! A few questions for ya'll. Ya kno. To help me write.
> 
> What do you think of Horus? Is he a character you find interesting and would like to see more of?  
> The next chapter: do you want me to swap up the perspectives and do a sort of 9.5 chapter from Dick's perspective? A "what happened after the events of chapter 9" or should I stick to a Jason plot?  
> I write a few sexual chapters, "sidechapters", with characters from this reality. Do you want me to upload them here or as a separate part of the "Mystery people all around" series? (Like the "??/he" chapter)
> 
> Do you want the second "arc" to be put in a separate part of the "Mystery people all around" series or do you want it to continue here? 
> 
> (If you don't want to answer the questions or just want to answer one that's totally fine! This just help me sort things out in my head so I can write better. Or well. That's the idea at least.)


	10. The last insanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I should add TW.  
> I don't know for what.   
> Maybe mentions of torture? Or something?   
> Let me know if you need a more specific TW

A few weeks passed. Carl-Henry went to prison. He didn’t hesitate to confess. He was found guilty on all charges and was put away to serve his time. 

Red Robin joined Batman on the rooftop tonight. Robin was preoccupied with the Kents and Red Robin would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little jealous, but what’s a guy to do?

Commissioner Gordon stood at their usual meeting spot and as soon as they stepped out in the light, Gordon jumped straight to the point. 

“Carl-Henry was brought to prison two weeks ago.” he said. Batman and Red Robin nodded, waiting for where that obvious statement would lead. “Well. We are considering transferring him to Arkham. Apparently he wakes up from night terrors nightly and he’s been twitchy since his third night there. Officers claim that inmates has mostly left him alone, so they don’t know where this twitchyness is coming from. Two days ago he was found in a corner rocking back and forth, muttering to himself and scratching his arms until they bled and then some.” Gordon explained. The vigilantes frowned. 

Usually, this wouldn’t be too strange, but both Batman and Red Robin knew about a crucial detail in all this. 

Carl-Henry was perfectly healthy going in. Or well. Not  _ perfectly _ . He had some ticks and kinks that made him differ, but his head was whole. He wasn’t insane, he had no history with any self destructive activities, he went to see a therapist for a while, but that was mostly to cope with the loss of his old mother. Again. He wasn’t insane. He took no medication for anything. His only fault was his kinks and the crowd of people he was around. 

“Has he said anything about  _ why _ he’s behaving the way he is?” Batman grunted out. Gordon handed over a file and a recorder. Batman flipped through the file and the recording started. 

“ _ Carl-Henry? Will you tell me why you were punching the mirror in your cell? _ ” a calm voice asked. This is most likely from a session with the counselor. 

“ **_They… They keep watching me… T-Those eyes… They won’t leave me alone!!_ ** ” Carl-Henry answered. He sounded tired and panicked. The counselor sounded like she was about to ask something else, but Carl-Henry spoke again. “ **_They crawled out of the mirror, hissing… Threatening me… Whispering things I… Things I just_ ** **know** **_that I shouldn’t know. F-Forbidden k-knowledge you know… The shadows are- They-_ ** ” Carl-Henry started breathing heavier. 

“ _ This is a safe space, Carl-Henry. What are they saying? What secrets? _ ”

“ **_T-They keep saying things like… Like something about a prince… An unloved prince… That he’s coming to get me… What will happen if I let the darkness c-consume me… Mrs. Winter… They make torture sound so sweet… They make it sound so beautiful, so poetic…_ ** ”

“ _ Do they want you to torture someone? _ ”

“ **_Oh no Mrs. Winter… They want me to torture_ ** **me** **_… They tell me it’s my punishment. I deserve to be punished for my crimes... If I complain, they grow more aggressive, if I submit they’re kinder… Mrs. Winter…_ ** ” 

If Carl-Henry didn’t sound scared before, he sure does now. “ **_Mrs. Winter. They’re telling me to rip your ears off… They tell me I shouldn’t have shared this…_ ** ”

Then a clatter is heard. The sound of a chair hitting the floor. “ **_Forgive me. If I don’t do this they’ll hurt me…_ ** ” 

More clatters are heard, then the sound of a door slamming open and many sets of feet clamping towards where the recorder is. Carl-Henry yells something incomprehensive before the recording stops. 

“The guards interfered before things got out of hand.” Gordon explained.

“Arkham does sound like the best option…” Batman grumbled. “There must have been something that forced him to behave this way though… Take him to Arkham. If the behaviour subsidies I’ll take some tests.” 

“I don’t see why the behaviour would change.” Gordon said.

“Could be traces of fear toxin or something of the like in the cell. Maybe he angered the wrong inmate.” Red Robin explained. He didn’t feel the need to add ‘or the wrong guard.’ Everyone present already knew that those words were implied. 

“We’ll check it out.” Batman said. Gordon nodded.

He turned around to gaze over the city.

“I just worry that this will spread to other inmates.” he grumbled. It went unheard. When he turned around he was met by a familiar scene. That’s to say that both vigilantes had soundlessly left him alone to talk to himself. The old commissioner sighed and scratched his head. “Every single time…” he muttered while lighting his cigarette. 

~...~ 

Red Robin was tasked with guarding the van during Carl-Henry’s transfer to Arkham. It’s not that they expected someone to come after him or anything. They just wanted to make sure that  _ he _ didn’t completely lose it and started attacking his company. Sure. He’s cuffed, but you never know. 

Meanwhile, Batman was inspecting the prison for any trace of something that could have led to this.

Red Robin hopped from rooftop to rooftop until the van safely reached Arkham. He used his binoculars to keep an eye on the van once they got closer and he ran out of rooftops to be sneaky on. 

Carl-Henry was led out of the van and he looked around himself frantically and he was talking to the guards that completely ignored whatever pleas came out from him. There was a scoff heard next to him. Red Robin flinched and looked at the source of the sound. 

“That was fast, don’t you think?” the person said with a smirk while he, too, observed the events taking place on the yard of Arkham Asylum. 

Red Robin doesn’t know how he didn’t hear Horus sneak up on him. This must be what his friends feel like when the batfamily does the same to them.

“What was?” Red Robin questioned while eyeing the other with suspicion.

“Oh don’t be stupid, it doesn’t suit you, darling.” Horus grinned, not looking away from the asylum. “I’m just saying. His mind broke rather quickly.” he stated gleefully.

“You think this is funny, do you?” Red Robin glared.

“Hilarious.” Horus confirmed. “I said he’d get what he deserved. And he did.”

“You did this…?” Red Robin asked.

“A few whispered words in the night can do much to a person’s psyche,” Horus smirked and finally looked away from the asylum to look at the vigilante.

“He’s gone insane, Horus! No one deserves this! He’s a danger to others and himself!!”

Horus laughed.

“I won’t let him kill himself, Red Rodeo.” he said and put a hand on the vigilante’s shoulder. “That’d be too easy. Personally, I agree with his voices.” The hand left Red Robin’s shoulder. “He deserves to be punished.”

“What did you do to him!?” Red Robin demanded and grabbed Horus’ ridiculous silver and purple tie to pull him closer.

“Do you want to know? I can show you. Won’t be pleasant, but I could. Oh. But  _ please _ let me. Your mind seems like it’d be a challenge to tear apart. It’d be interesting.” Horus wore a wicked smile, not at all bothered by the grip on his tie.

“You’re insane. Maybe they’ll let you share a cell with Carl-Henry.” Red Robin spat.

“I appreciate the offer, but sharing a room with a rapist and molester has never really been a dream of mine.” Horus deadpanned. Red Robin huffed and let go of him. They stood in silence for a few minutes while Red Robin tried to think of a way to fix things. “He’ll be fine, R… I’m just playing a little.”

“You call  _ this _ playing?!” 

“Yes~! Who knows, maybe he’ll swear to become a better person and find God. Not that God would listen, but I guess it’s the thought that counts. Maybe it’ll do him good in the long run.” Another wicked smile. “Look. All he needs to do is find the ‘safeword’ and I’ll leave him alone.”

“So changing locations won’t do him any good?”

“Nope~” Horus said, popping the ‘p’. “Even if you get him out of my reach without my knowledge, he’ll still be torturing himself. Day after day, night after night. The problem isn’t in me or in his surroundings. It’s in  _ him _ .”

“How did you do this…? Feargas?”

Red Robin  _ needed _ to know. What could break someone’s mind so much, so fast.

“Feargas?” Horus laughed like it was the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “No. Fuck no.” Another laugh. “It’s of my own design. I call it… Voices in the dark~” 

“He’s been hallucinating, Horus. About shadows with yellow eyes crawling out of the mirror. Voices whispering things don’t do that.” 

“Hm~! Maybe so~” Horus said nonchalantly and started walking on the very edge of the roof. “Or maybe the voices are very convincing. Or maybe they just know which buttons to press. Which secrets to reveal. About the victim and otherwise. Make him feel watched. Observed. Judged… Huh. Maybe turning to God is actually a horrible idea.” Horus giggled. “Shocker, huh?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Do you want a list or a nice long chat? We can go on a date~ I’ll tell you about all my faults~!” 

Red Robin gritted his teeth as he watched the other walk with such ease. So unbothered about destroying a person like this.

“He won’t die, R. I promise.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better. At this point it seems like death would be a mercy.”

“Truly~?” Horus smirked. “Should I kill him then?”

“ **_NO!_ ** ” 

Horus laughed and doubled over. 

“I’m kidding! Chillax.” he said when he calmed down. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to save the day, birdboy. You always do… Oh well. I gotta go. I’ve got a smoking hot mercenary to fuck and then I have a job in the next town. I’ll see you around, Cutie~” Horus blew him a kiss before hopping off the roof and disappeared. 

Red Robin glared at where Horus had just stood before calling B over the coms.

“He made it safely to the asylum.” he started.

“ _ Good. I think I’ve found something. _ ”

That made Red Robin pause. “ _ A small com… It was hidden in Carl-Henry’s pillow. It’s offline right now, but I think it might have something. _ ”

‘ _ Well I’ll be damned… Maybe he wasn’t bullshitting after all… _ ’

“Got it. Meet up back at the cave?”

Batman grunted to confirm and Red Robin left. 

‘ _ What could possibly have been transmitted on that thing…? _ ’

Back at the cave Batman was already waiting. Shocker. He stood by the computer, inspecting the small device in his hand.

“Have you listened to it?”

Batman grunted. Red Robin has learned that  _ that _ particular grunt meant negative.

Red Robin nodded and removed his gloves and helmet. “Has it gone online again?”

“No. Not that I’m aware of.”

‘ _ So a definite no then. _ ’

Red Robin walked to his mentor and they got to work on checking the mechanics of the device. They found a few files on it, then the device went online again and a voice started sounding through the speakers in the batcomputer.

“ _ Batman~! Red Robin~! I see you’ve exposed my methods. Don’t bother answering. This is pre-recorded. I  _ hope _ you found it at least. If it’s someone else, this will be  _ very  _ embarrassing. _ ” the voice giggled. “ _ I don’t recommend listening to the files. They could drive you insane.  _ If _ you decide to listen anyways, do well in remembering the phrase ‘the fall was awful but necessary. _ ’  _ It’s a sort of… Deactivation phrase. A safeword, if you will. But the things you’ll hear will be disturbing. The things you’ll see too. Your mind won’t be the same, even if the torture stops. Everything leaves its scars, as I’m sure you know... Welp~ That’s all from me. Best of luck, fellas. _ ”

The vigilantes shared a look. Red Robin reflected on what the voice had said. 

“Maybe we can track this back to a source?” Red Robin suggested. Batman nodded and started working on it. 

‘ _ Look. All he needs to do is find the ‘safeword’ and I’ll leave him alone. _ ’

‘ _ I’m sure you’ll find a way to save the day, birdboy. You always do…  _ ‘

Horus’ words came back. 

‘ _ ‘the fall was awful but necessary. _ ’  _ It’s a sort of… Deactivation phrase. A safeword, if you will. _ ’

“Do we know someone who can get close to him? Can we pay someone?”

Batman looked up at him.

“Depends. Why?”

“If the voice was telling the truth, we need Carl-Henry to hear the deactivation phrase. He’s bad, but if this keeps going on he will be driven into even more insanity and madness. Maybe Bruce Wayne can decide to check on how the asylum handles things. Get close to the patient and mutter the phrase as a means of encouraging him? Or something?”

Batman considered this before nodding. 

“Good thinking. I’ll make arrangements.”

“Are we going to listen to the files?”

Batman thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“No. I don’t think it’s worth the risk.” he said. “You can go get changed. Take the rest of the night off. A bird told me that you haven’t been sticking to your sleep schedule. Again.”

Red Robin winced at Batman’s tone of voice.

He muttered a small ‘okay’ before going to shower and change out of his uniform. 

He thought about the events of the day. Horus’ words came back as he showered. 

‘ _ He knew we’d find that recording… That’s why he said what he said. That has to be it. But… Why drop such hints? And why to me? And how did he know I’d listen to that with Batman…? _ ’

Tim sighed heavily. He suddenly realized how tired he was. The confusion that was Horus didn’t help matters. 

  
‘ _ Maybe I’ll approach him about it another time… _ ’

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to suggest tags that you feel need to be added.


End file.
